


Dragonlord

by MagicalArt



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, F/F, F/M, M/M, Magic, Merthur - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7260097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalArt/pseuds/MagicalArt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is a young warlock who has felt isolated in his uncles cottage for years, gazing out of his small bedroom window longing and wishing that someday he'd become a courageous warrior able to defend the dangerous streets of Camelot Island from its vicious fire-breathing attackers.<br/>One day he ventures out during an attack, and his dreams soon become reality, but not in the way he'd expecteded.<br/>This is the story of Merlin; his destiny, a prince, a handful of Knights, standing up, some love, strong bonds, the life of a warrior, and a whole lot of dragons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovering Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely reader!  
> I am a beginner in the fanfiction community, and though I read fanfiction constantly I have not gotten up the courage to post any.  
> Until now.  
> I hope you enjoy this story!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, How to Train Your Dragon, or any of these characters.

A dark-haired, blue eyed nineteen year old boy trudged down the dirt path leading back to his home after a long search for rare herbs.

This boy was heading back to his uncles house, the Island of Camelot's physician, Gaius.

The sun was setting over the beautiful island, causing most of the land to be bathed oranges and pinks.

There were families cooking dinner, causing many savoury smells to fill the bustling streets.

Everything on Camelot Island was blissful from the time the sun shone in the morning sky, to when the last rays of light glittered before its set.

It could even be peaceful when the stars appeared and the milky white moon chose to show itself, willing the world to rest. These were the nights when the citizens were safe. The nights when they lay their heads upon their pillows, wrapped in blankets, charging their energy for the work-filled day to come.

Everyone enjoyed those nights. Nights where they could rest and have nothing to fear.

But many nights, blood-curling shrieks sounded and fire filled the streets of the island.

It could either be a calm night, or a chaotic one. It all depended on whether the beasts attacked.

And, as you may have guessed, on this particular night there would be an attack.

Though it was also a very important night. A night in which a magical young man would begin fulfilling his destiny.

A man who would play an important part in bringing peace back to the land.

His name....Merlin.

*******

Merlin creaked open the rusty brown door, his lanky legs wobbling, tired from walking for hours on end. Sweat trickled down his neck as he finally dropped the ingredients and let out a sigh.

"Merlin?" Came the questioning voice of an older man.

"Here!" Merlin shouted from the seat he'd just recently plopped on.

Merlin's uncle, Gaius, came shuffling in to the kitchen.

"Are you alright my boy?" Gaius asked, raising an eyebrow at his exhausted nephew.

"Fine, just tired. That stickawatt herbs were hard to find. I had to fight off an angry squirrel to get to it," the boy replied, gesturing towards the ingredient on the table.

Gaius chuckled at this.

Merlin's crystal blue eyes were beginning to droop, exhaustion radiating off of him like steam.

"Take a rest, my boy, I'll get Gwen to help me create the medicine," Gaius told him, walking down the hallway to retrieve his niece from her room.

Gwen was Merlin's sister...well, half-sister on his moms side.

The pair looked nothing alike.

While Gwen had beautiful, darker skin Merlin had snowy translucent white. While Merlin had hair as black as night, Gwen's was curly brown. Gwen had honey-brown eyes, and Merlin contained cold blue irises. Merlin wore the same red and blue scarf and shirt combo with a brown jacket overtop daily, at the same time as Gwen enjoyed knitting new dresses, wearing a different one for each day of the week.

The only thing the two of them had in common was the blood of their mother. Other than that they were as different as day and night.

Merlin's eyes began to shut, the sounds of his sister and uncle working at the table fading off into the distance as he dozed off.

Before he realized he'd fallen asleep, Merlin had awoken to the sounds of shrieking and loud roars.

Merlin sat bolt upright from the wooden chair, immediately rushing over to the window.

It was happening again.

Outside of the window Merlin saw fire and chaos, citizens hiding and shaking from fear, the warriors of Camelot fighting to protect them.

You see, Camelot was no ordinary island.

They didn't have rodents or criminals reeking havoc amongst the streets. They had something a bit more dangerous...

Dragons.

Merlin watched as a red Monstrous Nightmare, a blood red dragon with raven black horns, landed in front of one of the Warriors & swallowed him whole.

How did Merlin know that the dragon type was a monstrous nightmare?

Well, he was a giant nerd when it came to different species of dragons.

Merlin felt fear and adrenaline boil in his blood as he watched the mystical creatures attack the streets, dragons as well as humans destroying each other.

Merlin longed to be out on the battlefield, as insane as it sounds.

He wished he could help, just as he always had.

Ever since he'd moved to Camelot 4 years ago, Merlin had wanted to help protect its citizens from the ruthless attacks the dragons had brought upon them.

He'd asked Gaius on many occasions, but to no such luck.

At first, his uncle had laughed in his face, thinking that he was joking. This was likely because of Merlin's lanky form that looked nothing a warriors muscular build.

When Gaius found out that he wasn't joking the older man told him that it was too dangerous and that he wasn't experienced enough.

To which Merlin tried to convince him that he could get experience if he went into training, and that his magic could easily protect him.

Yes, Merlin has magic. Actually, he has more than one type of magical power, though he doesn't know about the second one.

Gaius hadn't agreed to Merlin's wishes to train, in fear of Merlin exposing his power and getting executed by the king for using witchcraft.

Merlin had always wanted to be a Camelot warrior and help protect others. He was tired of watching other people risk their lives while he sat in his home, observing from the sidelines.

He wanted to rebel. He NEEDED to rebel.

Taking a deep breath, glancing around the room to see that Gaius and Gwen must've left to help with the wounded, he turned the knob of the door.

A sudden rush of heat and noise penetrated his senses, making him wince.

Merlin scanned the scene before him, his eyes immediately falling on a ruthless warrior fighting a dragon across the street.

Arthur, the son of the king.

The man, or should Merlin say God, was fighting a Deadly Nadder, a beautiful yet extremely harmful and swift dragon with a bright blue body and brilliant yellow spikes.

The dragon was nothing compared to Arthur, though, who's golden locks shone in the firelight and who's brilliant blue eyes were filled with courage, his toned jawline set in determination.

The man was muscular, quite like the other warriors, but his appearance outshone them all.

Shaking himself out of his daze, Merlin spotted another Nadder creeping up behind Arthur.

Oh god, Merlin remembered, they travelled in groups.

Without thinking, Merlin raced towards the threat behind Arthur, whispering a spell to push it away.

Much to Merlins surprise, it didn't work.

The dragon opened its jaws, about to set Arthur ablaze, when Merlin roughly tackled him out of the way, causing the other Nadder to set fire.

Merlin landed on top of the Warrior, his chainmail digging into him.

*******

Arthur was shocked, staring up at the blue-eyed boy in confusion.

One moment he'd been attacking one of the beasts with his sword, and the next he was on the ground being saved by a good looking...pathetic, boy.

What an idiot.

The boy blinked down at him, silence seemingly endless.

"Get off me!" Arthur shouted, roughly shoving the boy off him, finally breaking the silence.

Arthur had just nearly died due to a careless mistake, one that his father had taught him never to make.

"A simple thank you would've been polite, I just saved your neck y'know," the boy grumbled, dusting off his oak-coloured trousers.

Arthur was a ruthless warrior who'd fought dragons and won tournaments. He had perfect reflexes and a heart of steel. Fighting was within his blood...and yet, a dragon had managed to sneak up in him, resulting in some lanky, pale skinned stranger, who had most likely never even been out in the battlefield, saving him, a man who'd been trained in combat since he was a child.

How could he be so stupid?

"I didn't need any help," Arthur bit back angrily.

The boy huffed.

"Without me you'd be completely disintegrated right now..prat!" Merlin replied with frustration.

Arthur's eyes widened, his eyes locking with the other boys in a dangerous glare.

Nobody had ever spoken to him like that, being the prince and all. It surprised him, and deep down, he admired it.

"You can't address me like that. Do you even know who I am?" Arthur asked.

"Why yes, I do," Merlin said sarcastically.  
"But that does not excuse you from acting in such an impolite manor after a mans just saved your life."

Arthur was about to bite back another retort when the loud echo of a dragons roar rung through the street.

"I don't have time for this," Arthur said in frustration, shaking his head.

Arthur strode off towards the sounds of the violent beasts, giving the beautiful yet annoying man one last cold look.

"This isn't over," Arthur growled before disappearing down the street.

*******

"How could you be so foolish?!" Gaius shouted at the boy as he walked through his door, slapping the back of his head.

Merlin sighed, Gaius' disapproving eyebrow clearly aimed at him.

"I'm sorry Gaius," Merlin started, his head hanging in shame.

"That isn't good enough, boy. We talked about this, it's too dangerous for you to be out there," Gaius said.

"But Gaius, I..I just...my whole life, I've been hiding this secret about me. A secret that could help save the lives of innocent people. Do you know how hard it is to just stand on the sidelines and watch when you could be doing so much more?" Merlin ranted, searching his uncles eyes for some understanding.

His uncles eyes began to soften as they sat in silence.

Unexpectedly, Gaius hugged him.

Merlin was in shock, but hugged his uncle back anyway.

"I understand, I felt the same way once," Gaius responded.

"But, Merlin, I don't let you go out there because I worry about you. I swore to you and Gwen's mother that I'd protect you both. I'd be consumed with guilt if you were ever to get hurt or be executed," Gaius explained.

Merlin sighed, pulling away from the embrace.

"I know Gaius, but I'm not a child anymore. I should be able to make my own decisions," Merlin told his uncle.

When Gaius didn't respond, Merlin left the room, shoulders slumped in defeat.  
*******

"You did what?!" Gwen asked, her eyes as big as saucers.

Merlin and Gwen were in Gwens bedroom the morning after the dragon attack, Merlin telling Gwen about what happened.

Merlin huffed.

"Just let me finish speaking Guinevere," Merlin responded, rolling his eyes.

Gwen nodded vigorously in response.

"Alright, so as I told you I tried to use magic to save the prince, but my magic didn't work, which was quite odd. I'll have to figure that out later. Anyway, then the Deadly Nadder behind Arthur began to open its mouth, so, instinctively, I pulled him out of the way as the other dragon got scorched," Merlin finished.

Gwen gasped.

"Though after the prince turned out to be a royal arse, and was angry at me for saving him, likely because his pride meant more to him than his manners...Anyway, he then stormed down the street with his 'perfect' chest puffed out and his 'perfect jaw' set acting like some god. That's the end of it," Merlin finished.

"Merlin, that's...that was amazing! Well, not the last part with that guy you like getting angry at you," Gwen smirked knowingly, getting an evil look from her brother.  
"But the rest was fantastic!" She squeaked.

"I only wish I had the guts to go out onto the battlefield like that," she sighed in longing.

Merlin patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry Gwen, one day we'll be allowed to fight. Until then..." Merlin said, pulling out the parchment with the poster of the Knights tryouts.

"I've made a plan for us to do it in secret," Merlin told his sister with an arrogant smirk.

*******

Merlin was exhausted from training with his sister the entire day, panting and leaning on a tree.

Gwen, the warrior she was, continued shooting her bow at her target, her gaze continuing to be sharp, never missing.

After she ran out of arrows she sat by her brother, her back against the tree beside him.

"I'm terrible at fighting, Gwen," Merlin told her miserably.

"That's not true, your were good at.....wait....um......your shield work!" Gwen replied with fake enthusiasm.

"Come on Gwen, shield work is nothing. A shield may protect me from danger but it won't help me defeat it. I'm hopeless," Merlin replied sadly, burying his head in his hands.

Gwen gave her brothers shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Merlin, I wouldn't normally say this, but maybe you can use your magic..cautiously, of course, to make your skills better," Gwen told him.

Merlin's forehead creased in thought.

"There may be a spell, but it would be cheating, Gwen. And I'd have to find it quickly since the tryouts are tommorow," Merlin replied.

"It's not cheating if it's something you were born with. I'll see you back at the house Merlin," Merlin's sister finished, her soft footfalls fading as she sauntered towards the house.

Merlin stood after a few moments of thought. The sun would begin to set soon, so he'd best get back to the house.

Suddenly, Merlin heard a powerful voice call his name.

"Merlin," it said, almost in a whisper.

Merlin whipped his head around, looking for the mysterious voice, to no such luck.

He must've imagined it, Merlin thought, deciding to continue walking.

"Merlin!" The voice said louder this time.

Merlin came to a halt, knowing he hadn't imagined it this time.

"Merlin!" It called out again.

Out of curiosity, Merlin followed the voice that continued to call his name.

Not much farther into the woods, Merlin discovered a large cave. Deciding to light a torch in order to see through the the darkness, Merlin walked into it, eventually discovering the biggest cave he'd ever seen.

There was what looked like a rocky cliff inside, which Merlin carefully avoided falling off of.

There was also something golden perched on a rock in front of him..

A DRAGON!

Merlin stumbled in fear.

The dragon chuckled.

"Hello Merlin," it said, the torches flames glittering off its golden scales and large exterior.

Merlin had never seen, or learned of a dragon like this before.

He also noticed that it was chained to the ground, which lessened his fear but made him pity the creature.

"H-how do you know my name?" Merlin asked the creature.

It chuckled again, as if Merlin was the most hilarious thing in the world.

"I know many names young man, and I know many things. You are quite a legend to us dragons," The dragon told him.

Merlin looked up at the dragon in confusion.

"..why?" Merlin asked the creature.

"Because of what you're destined to do, of course. It's been written in the stars since the dawn of time," the dragon said.

Merlin was quite confused since the dragon wouldn't give him a straight-forward answer.

"Which is?" He asked questioningly.

"You are meant to play an important role in uniting us dragons and humans again, to create peace between our kinds," the dragon replied.

Merlin was shocked, why was he the one destined to do this?

He was nothing special, he couldn't fight properly, nor was his magic that strong since it hadn't seemed to work on dragons.

"You must have the wrong person, I don't think I'm the great and powerful person destined for such as task," Merlin replied to the dragon.

The dragon chuckled again.

"Well, not yet, young warlock. This is only the beginning. You'll need to discover who you really are first, and become a knight so that you can protect the young prince, of course," the dragon replied with amusement.

Again with the odd answers, Merlin thought, shaking his head.

"What does Arthur have to do with this?" Merlin asked.

"The prince is the person destined to bring our species together. You are the one destined to make that happen," the dragon answered.

Merlin suppressed at laugh.

"Arthur? The man hates dragons."

"That is incorrect, young warlock. The princes father is the one who holds hatred for dragons, and Arthur has been taught to do so as well. The man will change his perspective, with your help, and when he does both our species will live in peace. There will be no more war or bloodshed," the dragon said confidently.

"Good luck, young warlock. Become a knight and protect the prince of Camelot. Help us reunite our land," the dragon said before flying away, the long chain still attached to him as he perched himself at the far end of he cavern.

"Wait! I don't understand!" Merlin uselessly shouted after it.

After a moment Merlin wandered back outside, completely bewildered, as if he'd been forced into an impossible task.

Why was he granted such a difficult destiny?


	2. Knighthood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin despretly wants to become a knight, as well as his sister, so the two of them decide to try out.
> 
> But will they make it in?

"Welcome to the battlefield, rookies!" Arthur shouted at them, giving each person a challenging glare as he circled the line of potential soldiers.

As he walked by he observed the group which consisted of a man with chin-length scruffy brown hair and a cocky smile, another man who was as big as a wild grizzly with toned muscles made of stone, a woman who looked to be quite strong with tan skin and honey-brown eyes, a young girl with dark hair and a shy smile, a man with chocolate-brown eyes and an eager expression on his face, and finally a lanky boy both with pale skin, blue eyes, razor sharp cheekbones and an arrogant grin on his face.

He could've sworn this last man was familiar.

He probably just looked similar to the man he was thinking of, Arthur reassured himself.

"Today, you will be trying out to become one of Camelot's Warriors, a title given only to the most chivalrous and courageous of fighters across the seas," Arthur told them with a strong voice.

Arthur glanced at his father who was watching his every move from outside of the arena.

"In order to gain this title you must be swift, stealthy, and above all else, able to survive your first dragon..." Arthur paused to hear a few soft gasps across the audience.

"You will choose a weapon and a shield in order to defend yourselves," Arthur said, gesturing towards the weapons and shield racks.

Most of the group continued to keep their poker faces, but some were visibly sweating with anxiety.

Arthur made eye contact with the blue eyes of that familiar looking boy again, who winked at him.

It was him.

The boy who pushed him away from one of the dragons attacking Camelot a few days ago, thinking that he was saving him, even though Arthur had it under control, then proceeding to being cocky, acting like a 'mighty hero'.

But worst of all, calling Arthur a prat afterwards.

Arthur glared back at him.

Leon, one of Arthur's best ranking Knights, had situated himself by the door holding one of the deadly beasts inside.

"Lets begin!" Arthur shouted, Leon pulling down the lever that opened the door.

The creature immediately swooped into the arena with a dangerous fire in its eyes.

*******

All was calm until the dragon emerged, then everyone had dashed to the weapons rack like a flock of wild deer about to be attacked by its prey.

Which, Merlin supposes, was quite a similar situation to what was happening.

The dragon was mud brown with bumps along its body, tiny wings, giant yellow eyes, a club for a tail, and razor-sharp teeth.

A gronckle.

Adrenaline and fear began pumping through his veins as he ran to the weapons rack.

Everyone had gotten there first, leaving Merlin with a flimsy flower designed shield and a small dagger.

His eyes darted to Arthur, who was smirking.

The clotpole.

Merlin quickly ran to a safe spot in the arena that the dragon wasn't trampling or completely disintegrating.

He watched as the dragon had come dangerously close to killing many of them, all of them skillfully dodging its attacks.

After a while Merlin started to think that he was practically invisible to the dragon, so it caught him off guard when the dragon came barreling towards him.

Merlin tried to attack it with his small hunting knife, which did penetrate the dragons skin and make it roar, but his dagger was easily knocked out of his hand afterwards.

Suddenly, Merlin was on the ground, with a unbearable amount of weight on top of him. The dragons mouth was open wide, about to engulf Merlin in flames.

Arthur immediately pulled the dragon off of him, forcefully luring the dragon back towards its cage with his sword.

Merlin's cheeks went red, he must've accidentally let out a very un-manly whimper during the battle because basically everyone was laughing at him, even his sister who was unsuccessfully trying to stifle her giggles behind her hand.

Merlin sighed, standing awkwardly and dusting off his dirty trousers.

"Remember, a dragon will always go for the kill," Arthur said, the comment obviously aimed towards Merlin.

"We will decide who our Knights will be and have it up on the pole tomorrow morning. Dismissed!" Arthur shouted, a cheeky grin splayed across his lips that was evidently directed towards Merlin.

A very attractive grin.

Merlin would never become a knight, would he?

Before walking out and curling into a ball of humiliation, a woman with pale skin, emerald green eyes, and long dark hair had stopped him.

She was wearing a few pieces of armour, shoulder pads and a breast plate, with black leather trousers, and had a sword clutched in her right hand.

That's when he recognized her. Morgana Pendragon, princess of Camelot.

Also known as one of the fiercest warriors in all the kingdoms.

"H-hi," Merlin stuttered.

She smirked.

"I'm Morgana Pendragon, but I suppose you already knew that. You?" 

"Merlin, uh, Merlin Emrys."

They shook hands, Merlin's still clammy from his nerves during battle before.

"I just wanted to let you know that despite that terrible ending in which you had to get saved by my besotted brother, you didn't do half bad on the training field," Morgana said in a wispy tone as if she were trying not to be heard.

She cocked her head to the right, as if she heard something.

"Sorry, but I must bid you farewell. Good luck Merlin!"

Morgana quickly ran off, and Merlin was left wondering if he had imagined the entire thing.

*******

"What do you mean we're letting everyone in?!" Arthur shouted in outrage.

His father gave him a cold glare.

"Sir, sorry sir," Arthur spoke more quietly, letting his head fall.

He shouldn't have questioned and interrupted his King in such a rude manner, especially when it was his father as well.

A father who had very high expectations of him since he was a child and would highly disapprove of any mistakes his son made whatsoever.

"As I was saying before you interrupted, we are letting them all into our army. We have very few warriors in our clan due to the amount of deaths the dragons have caused, and we need all the fighters we can get. I'm sorry Arthur but my decision is final. Now, go to you bed chambers, it's after curfew," Uther said before striding out of the door.

Arthur sighed.

There had been a cloud of anxiety looming over the castle since the dragon attacks had become more frequent. Camelot needed good soldiers, ones that wouldn't perish the minute they stepped foot on the battlefield. 

Soldiers unlike the blue eyed mess Arthur had to save in the arena that day.

Though, he supposed, his father had no choice, their numbers had dropped to an alarming rate, and if they didn't let as many people into their army as possible Camelot would likely perish.

"Not happy brother dear?" A feminine voice asked, sarcasm creeping into her tone.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"What do you want Morgana?" He asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"Oh, I was just eavesdropping, you seem quite unhappy with Uther's decision," she answered, fluttering her eyelashes at him innocently with amused green eyes.

"Of course I'm upset, some of the Warriors today were clearly not fit to be on the battlefield."

"You mean your damsel in distress that you so valiantly saved?"

Arthur glared at her.

She giggled.

"I think his name is Merlin, I spoke to him afterwards."

Arthurs eyebrows knit into a scowl.

"Don't be worried brother dearest, I didn't do anything rash, well, except saying you were besotted, but I didn't imply with whom. Anyway-" 

"Do you think this some kind of joke Morgana?!" Arthur asked angrily.

Morgana's eyes widened.

"These untrained newbies are being thrown onto the battlefield with a highly unlikely chance that any of them has ever defeated a dragon before. Hundreds of us have died because of these beasts, and these...these arrogant young adults with the dream of conquering beasts and saving the kingdom like in fairy tales are unaware of how slim a chance they have to live."

Arthur sighed.

"I know you're not trying to Morgana, it's just that when you joke around and people's lives are at stake it makes it seem like you don't care, that you think everything is fine when it's not," Arthur finished with a last breath.

There was a pause, silence buzzed intensely in both their ears, the siblings avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Just because I pretend that everything's fine doesn't mean I believe it, Arthur. I'm just as worried as you are, believe it or not," Morgana said before storming out of the open door.

 

*******

Merlin woke up to the squealing of his sister and the blinding sun creeping its way through his window curtains.

"Merlin wake up! They're putting up the list of people who made it!" Gwen shouted ecstatically.

After Merlin grunted and hid back under his duvet, Gwen rudely threw off the blanket and tugged Merlin's arm until he was on his feet.

"Get up lazy ass we need to go!" Gwen urged.

Merlin moaned sleepily, his eye lids protesting and fighting to stay closed.

Before he knew it Merlin had been tugged to the door, his brown leather jacket thrown over the loose white tunic he'd worn to bed, and his boots strapped on before he was suddenly outside.

"Guinevere you didn't even give me time to change!" Merlin shouted in protest, sleep still evident in his tone.

Gwen rolled her eyes.

"We're just looking at a paper not attending the royal banquet," Gwen replied, continuing to pull him through the path.

When they finally got there Merlin had woken up a bit more. He found a couple of other people standing by the pole as well, waiting to see if all their hard work payed off and if they'd become the warrior they'd always wanted to be.

The crowd consisted of a pale skinned young girl with dark hair and kind eyes, and a tall, tan guy with soft-looking brown locks, kind chocolate brown irises, and slightly toned muscles in a grey tunic.

When the male spotted Guinevere his lips immediately turned up into a smile, his entire face seeming to light up like the sun.

"Gwen!" He shouted happily, walking towards her.

Gwen smiled back at him, her cheeks tinted pink.

"Lancelot," she greeted back.

Merlin watched curiously, he didn't know she'd made a new friend.

Or crush, rather.

"My lady," Lancelot said when he got to her, kissing her hand as if she were the queen.

Merlin quirked an eyebrow at her.

Gwen's cheeks were fully red now.

Merlin glanced around, seeing that every person from yesterday's tryouts had arrived.

Before Gwen and Lancelot were able to continue their conversation someone that looked to be a young serving boy came out with the list.

The crowd fell silent, staring transfixed as the young man stuck the parchment onto the wooden post.

Immediately after it was hung people were fighting tooth and nail to be able to see it.

Merlin was in no rush, he knew there was no way that they'd accept him after his disastrous performance.

There were many smiles and gleeful squeals after each person found their name.

When the crowd finally dispersed, Merlin reluctantly glanced at the paper.

 

Congratulations on our new recruits:

Miss Freya  
Sir Gwaine  
Miss Guinevere  
Sir Lancelot  
Sir Merlin  
Sir Percival

We are glad to have you joining the Camelot Knights in battle.

 

He read over his name a few times before it sank in.

He made it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was quite fun to write. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> The next chapter things will get more interesting, and you'll see more of the storyline from the How To Train Your Dragon movie since I've changed it up a bit to fit the Merlin universe.
> 
> I'll also write more about characters such as Gwaine, Percival, and Freya.
> 
> You're amazing, reader! 
> 
> See ya! :)


	3. Knights and Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Gwen finally begin training.

Gaius was upset.

"Why can't they just follow my rules?" Gaius asked the golden dragon.

"It's simple enough. I don't give them a terrible life; there's food on the table twice a day, they have clothes, there's a roof over their heads, I educate them..." Gaius ranted.

The dragon sighed.

"Gaius, Gaius. I know you're worried about them being killed, but it's clearly what they were born to do, what they want to do. It's in their destiny," the dragon replied.

Killgharrah didn't understand, Gaius thought.

This dragon hadn't been asked to take care of two children in a needy letter their mother, Gaius's sister, had written. The dragon hadn't felt fear everyday that the boy he was supposed to protect would get caught for the powers he held inside.

Gaius nodded anyway.

"I'm not too worried about Guinevere, she's a strong women, but what about Merlin? He's clumsy and lanky, he has no idea what he's doing most of the time. And his powers..." 

"Gaius, worrying won't do anything. Their destinies will unfold whether you like it or not. As for Merlin, don't be worried about him. His powers are what will save this land, and he is a careful boy when in comes to his secrets, he will keep it hidden until the time comes."

Gaius huffed in frustration.

"And what of the hidden powers his father possessed?" Gaius asked.

"He's coming of age soon, what if he gains the power and becomes a dragon lord?"

The dragon chuckled.

"That's what he must discover and what he must discover alone," the dragon replied, spreading its golden wings and flying as far into its cave as the chain would let him.

*******

Merlin and Gwen arrived back at their house only to discover Gaius stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

They were screwed.

"Giaus, Gaius, I can explain-" Gwen began.

"No, Gwen, there's no point," Merlin told her, cutting her off before she improvised an unbelievable lie.

They both sighed at the same time.

After stepping inside of their small home Gaius sat at the table, gesturing for them to join him.

Their heads were hung in shame, dreading what was to come.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the intensity of Gaius's disapproval hanging thick in the air.

"I think I know where you both were, well, obviously, since Merlin's been stubbornly begging me to let him go for years," Gaius began.

They both responded with a small nod.

"I'd like you both to understand that I don't put these rules up to burden you but because I worry about you. I know I've told you this a million times, but I promised your mother I'd look after the both of you."

Merlin and Gwen felt guilt begin to bubble up in their stomachs.

There was a long pause.

"That being said, you have both reached the age of young adulthood, therefore you should both be able to make your own decisions..." Gaius grumbled.

The siblings eyes lit up with hope.

"I'm not saying that I'm not still irritated with both of you for breaking my rules, you are still under my roof, but I suppose....I will allow you both to train in Camelots army," Gaius I'd with much reluctance.

Merlin and Gwen couldn't believe it, there uncle was finally allowing them to do what they wanted.

"Thank you uncle," Gwen squealed, pulling the older man into a hug.

"Thanks Gaius," Merlin said with much gratitude, pulling him into a warm embrace.

Merlin couldn't wait until their first training session.

*******

Merlin hated their first training session almost as much as he hated Arthur Pendragon, and that was saying something.

Arthur had thrown them into the arena with 20 foot barriers set up in a maze like formation that each person had to navigate around, while a Deadly Nadder angrily flew after each person trying to impale its spikes into them.

"The goal is to defeat the dragon using its weakness." Arthur shouted as everyone continued pacing through the arena.

The barriers made it difficult to know where you were going, as well as where the dragon was, putting everyone on edge.

"You have to find its blind spot, every dragon has one." 

Merlin was currently trotting around the arena with a sword held in his right hand and a shield (luckily without pink flowers this time) in is left, hoping with every ounce of his being that he didn't die like this.

"I've got him!" Merlin heard a man shout, guessing it was the obnoxious guy named Gwaine who he'd met this morning, eating an apple while Arthur had been speaking, which, as you can imagine, the prince didn't not appreciate.

Merlin heard a roar from the dragon.

"Aah!" The man shouted.

"That's the dead spot, much less effective then the blind spot since it aggravates them," Arthur replied in an amused tone.

"Idiot," Merlin heard another man say, chuckling while he said it.

"The sun was in my eyes, Percival. What do you want me to do, block out the sun?" The other man replied.

Merlin rolled his eyes in amusement, continuing to run through the arena.

Merlin was panting and aching by the time his path crossed with that of captain prat.

The man was disheveled, his face drenched in sweat and mouth set in a firm line, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Merlin found it hard not to stare.

There was a sudden roar that sounded much closer than Merlin would've anticipated.

Before the dragon could impale him with its spikes, Merlin positioned himself defensively behind his shield, the spikes hitting the wood of the shield instead of his flesh.

Merlins eyes were wide in panick.

Merlin uselessly tried finding its blind spot, dancing around uncoordinatedly and swing his sword at it.

Merlin felt Arthur looking at him as he did so, Merlin dreadfully knowing how poorly he was resembling the fighting routine Arthur had taught before the battle.

Eventually the dragon lunged at him, pinning the warlock to the ground and opening its jaws wide.

Merlin felt useless, his hands immobile, making it impossible for him to use his magic.

Though before being engulfed in flames Merlin, for the second time, was being saved by Arthur, who had knocked the dragon off of him.

After the creature was put back in his cage Arthur turned to an ashamed looking Merlin leaning against a wall.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Arthur asked him furiously.

Merlin weakly shook his head.

"We're about to go to war with these creatures. The citizens of Camelot need to be protected. We need skilled, trained warriors in our army, not amateurs like you!"

Arthur had slowly gotten closer, his face now inches from Merlins.

"Don't make that mistake again or I'll personally remove you," Arthur growled.

Merlins heart rate had escalated.

His brows pinched together.

Why was Arthur being so hard on him? 

It was their first training session, Merlin hadn't had the time to get even remotely better.

He shoved Arthur off of him and angrily stormed out of the arena, slamming the creaky door behind him.

*******

Arthur sighed, watching Merlin leave.

"Dismissed! All of you, meet in the dining hall for dinner," Arthur shouted to the Warriors he knew were watching him, probably in shock or disapproval.

He'd caused yet another person to slam the door on him in the past week.

Arthur wasn't truly angry at Merlin's lack of skill, he could fix that with time.

The problem was he didn't have the time he needed.

He was worried about him, not that he'd ever admit it.

Worried for the day that Merlin would be forced to fight a real battle. The overwhelming amount of fire surrounding you, the bloodshed, all of your friends dropping one by one and dying alongside you.

The pain the dragons could cause you if they got a swing at you, Arthur thought, grazing the scar on his stomach and thinking of the burns on his back.

Though most of all, he'd feared that Merlin would die, just like many of the Knights before him had.

He'd failed them all, and he didn't want to do that again.

Arthur remembered that he had to get Merlin back to the dining hall, since the Knights first meal together was an important one.

Arthur jogged over to the tan skinned girl, recalling she was Merlins sister.

"You're Merlin's sister, correct?" Arthur asked politely, hoping not to aggravate her more than she looked.

She glared at him.

"That is correct."

"Do you know, uh, where he went by any chance?" Arthur asked, actually intimidated by this women's sharp glare.

"Why, what's it to you? Do you want to humiliate him more then you already have?"

Arthur sighed.

"I just want him to join us at dinner is all. We'll be providing great food.."

Gwens expression softened, but only for a moment.

"I'll go get him, not because it's what you want, but because it's what he would want."

"Thanks," Arthur replied, beginning to walk away.

He felt her grasp his sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"He really wants this, you know. I know my brother is quite rubbish at fighting, but he doesn't want to be. He's wanted to become a knight for some time now." 

Gwen paused.

"Just...please go a bit less harsh on him. He likes you, or at least he used to," Gwen finished.

Arthur doubted that last one was ever true, probably just flattery.

Though Arthur nodded in agreement, which granted him his release.

*******

Merlin had angrily trudged off towards the dragons cave.

How was Merlin supposed to turn that arrogant idiot into a great ruler if they both despised each other?

"Hello young warlock," the dragon greeted.

Merlin didn't reply, instead huffing in frustration.

"Killgarah, can I ask you something?"

The dragon nodded.

"How is it my destiny to protect and help change Arthurs perspective on dragons if he hates me?"

The dragon chuckled.

"A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"You do realize that makes no sense?" Merlin asked.

"You and Arthur are destined to create a peaceful kingdom together, you have since the dawn of time. A rocky start doesn't mean there won't be a smooth ending. This is only the beginning young warlock."

"Why can't you give me a straight answer?!" Merlin shouted, but the dragon and already flown away.

*******

Merlin had bumped into Gwen, who was shouting his name.

"There you are, I've been searching for you for half an hour!"

Merlin met her eyes.

"Are you alright, Merlin?"

Merlin nodded.

She looked unconvinced, but still grabbed his hand and began tugging him with her.

"Where are we going?" Merlin asked.

Gwen didn't reply.

"Guinevere."

....

"We're going to the dining hall."

Merlin began to squirm out of her grip.

"Merlin, please. There will be a feast."

He continued to struggle out of her grip.

"They'll be teaching us about the different species of dragons," Gwen lied.

Merlin paused for a moment.

Gwen didn't like lying, but knew she had won, and soon the dining hall was in plain sight.

"Gwen, I don't know if I can do this. I don't if I can deal with him," Merlin said pathetically, knowing she'd understand who he was talking about.

"Don't worry, I spoke with him, he won't bother you."

Merlin groaned.

"Why?"

"I was trying to help you, I don't understand why you'd be upset," she replied, confused.

"Because, Gwen, I need to fight my own battles. He'll probably think I'm even more pathetic now since I can't stand up for myself."

While Gwen was distracted, Merlin wiggled out of her grip and tried to run away.

"Oh no you don't!"

*******

Merlin was reluctantly sat at a wooden table beside his sister, eating the food that was provided, which was a lot more luxurious and tastier then what he ate at home.

He wished Gaius was here, he deserved a nice meal.

But then again he didn't wish his uncle was there, since Gaius would know how pathetic he was.

Merlin had begun to learn all of there names while he sat and observed.

There was Gwaine, who had to be the loudest and most amusing of them all. With his chin length brown hair, toned muscles and his crazy amount of flirting he would likely win any women's, or mans as made it clear, heart.

There was Percival, a bear of a man, who was sat beside Gwaine. He had been the number one target of Gwaines rambunctious flirting, to which Percival didn't seem to mind. He was as tall as a tree and had trunks for arms, but his face was gentle and his hair was cleanly shaven.

At that same table there were quite a few unrecognizable Knights, likely because they had already finished their training. Though he recognized Leon, who was a curly haired ginger that was second in command to Arthur, sat at the end, clearly enjoying the show that Gwaine had put on.

There was Lancelot, who was of course, speaking to Gwen, his cheeks tinted pink.

The two of them looked to be entranced with each other, Lancelot's charming smile and windswept brown hair easy to fall in love with, as well as Merlins sisters charm, a kind smile, chocolate brown eyes with her long curly hair and the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed.

Merlin could see why they liked each other.

Though this left Merlin to be the third wheel at the table, which was not pleasent.

He glanced at Arthur, who was sat with his sister across the room, looking quite unhappy at that moment.

He also looked to be the third wheel, since Morgana had rapped her arm around the shy, quite beautiful dark-haired girl Merlin remembered as Freya.

Arthurs pouting made him look like a kicked puppy that Merlin felt the sudden need to hug.

Which was annoying since Arthur clearly despised him.

The two girls began speaking to him, and, to his horror, Morgana gestured towards Merlin.

Merlin quickly looked back at his plate, suddenly very interested in his food.

*******

"No, I am not apologizing to him." Arthur whispered back at his sister in a harsh tone.

"Come on Arthur, you clearly need to fix this dispute. You're going to get no where with him if you don't."

"What if I don't want to get anywhere with him?"

Morgana gave him a I-know-you're-lying look.

"You've been glancing up at him for the past five minutes, it's time to get your lazy ass over there before I tell Merlin you're little secret."

"You wouldn't dare," Arthur growled.

"Watch me," she replied, removing her arm from around Freya's waste and-

"No no no! Fine, I'll go."

Morgana smirked in triumth.

Arthur glared back at her.

Arthur sucked in a deep breath, his eyes locked on Merlin, before sauntering over to him.

*******

Merlin felt a tap on his shoulder.

When Merlin looked up and saw who it was he nearly choked on his drink.

He was staring into the deep oceans of Arthur's blue eyes, who quickly diverted his gaze.

"I just wanted to say I'm-" Arthur began, but was suddenly cut off by someone's loud booming voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Next chapter we'll introduce an important dragon that may or may not be a night fury. ;)  
> Have a great day readers!


	4. An Apology and a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur apologizes and meets a dragon.

Dragon lord 4  
An Apology and a Dragon

 

"Welcome young Knights!" a booming voice shouted, ringing through the dining hall, the cheers of the Knights sounding immediately after.

Merlins head whipped around to land on a muscular man wearing a scarlet cape and a golden crown.

Immediately Merlin recognized him as the king.

"I hope our new recruits have enjoyed their first meal as Knights of Camelot."

More cheers echoed through the hall.

Arthur continued to stand beside Merlin, but seemed to be listening intently to his father.

Merlin glanced at the empty spot on the bench beside him.

No, he'll sit of he wants to Merlin.

"To become a knight of Camelot is a rewarding title, one that holds chivalry, strength, and honour..."

As the Kings lengthy speech about honour and what-not continued, something prickled in the back of Merlins mind as Arthur continued to stand.

He eventually decided to speak.

"You can sit, if you'd like," Merlin whispered to Arthur, patting the empty spot beside him.

There was a long pause, to which Merlin thought Arthur didn't hear him. Eventually there was a nod, and the prince plopped down beside him, though at the very edge of the table creating a lot of distance between them.

"I do hope that we will be victorious in our fight against the dragons, the venomous creatures that have plagued our land for hundreds of years. I bid you all farewell," Uther finished.

When the king left the hall everyone began to exit.

Merlin looked at Arthur.

"Right, s-so I just wanted to say that...uh...." Arthur stuttered.

Merlin quirked an eyebrow at him, was he trying to apologize?

"I'm..sorry, for how I treated you earlier today," Arthur said, visibly cringing at every word.

Merlin smirked at him.

Arthurs cheeks went pink.

"Don't look so pleased you're still rubbish at fighting," Arthur bit back.

Without a glance at Merlin, Arthur walked out of the door, Merlin left alone staring at his back as the beautiful prince left.

*******

Arthur stood atop a grassy hill, aiming for the dragon that was currently attacking the lower village of the island. Smoke and the shrieks of citizens penetrated his senses, trying to distract his aim on the beast.

Though he was much used to these senses already, after all his years spent in battle.

The attack was unexpected, since dragons rarely, if ever, attacked in the daytime

The dragon looked to be a night fury, the rarest and most mysterious species of dragon that existed. Night furies were extremely swift creatures that no human had ever glimpsed upon, only seeing a blur in its wake.

Though this Night Fury was different.

Blending in with the fluffy clouds the dragon was pure white as opposed its natural black hue.

Like a Day Fury, Arthur thought, not that they were supposed to exist.

Arthur almost believed it wasn't a 'day' fury, but the swiftness of the dragon and the blue spouts of fire that came shooting out of its mouth indicated otherwise.

Because of its speed most people thought it impossible to shoot the beast. 

Arthur took that as a challenge.

He had been trying for many years now to take down a Night Fury.

With one eye squinted shut the blonde prince aimed his cross bow at the beast that was currently giving its attention to attacking the water tower.

Arthur fired the bolt, the arrow soaring through the air.

It hit.

Arthur couldn't believe it.

His eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched the injured dragon slow dramatically.

He ran over the other weapon, shooting a trapping device at it while it was at its weakest.

The net hit and the dragon went tumbling down into the forest.

He beamed with pride.

His father would be so proud.

*******

Merlin couldn't believe his eyes when he made it to the lower town.

A Night Fury was supposedly attacking in the daytime, but it turned out to be white, a camouflage which made it harder to spot during a cloudy day such as this.

Electric blue spits of fire were protruding out of it like bullets, each strike hitting the houses of the village like canons.

There were black clouds of smoke and the shrieks of citizens sounding everywhere.

That's when he spotted Arthur on the hilltop, aiming his crossbow at the beast.

Merlin sprinted towards him without thinking.

Before he could get there he watched in awe when the arrow actually hit.

Merlin stopped in his tracks at the bottom of the hill.

Arthur ran over to the trapping device, and suddenly the dragon was down, tumbling towards the treetops of the forest.

Merlin couldn't believe what he saw.

Nobody had ever been able to capture a night fury.

It was shocking, a moment in history that could change everything.

People could study it, try to learn more about the dragon...

Merlin stopped his train of thought.

They wouldn't do that, Merlin thought, they'd kill it.

Maybe chop its head off and hang it on a wall as an example.

Merlin felt sick.

A voice in his mind told him he had to save the dragon, which was absurd since Merlin had wanted to become a knight, a dragon-killing warrior, since forever, despite what the golden dragon said about Merlins destiny.

Though Merlin should've always known that he never wanted to kill dragons, he just wanted to protect people.

To be the hero.

What a stupid childish dream, Merlin thought.

How could you be a hero if it meant the cost of other living things lives?

Wouldn't that make you a murderer, not a hero, even if the thing you were killing was bad?

Before Merlins mental battle continued Arthur began sprinting towards the forest.

Sneakily, Merlin followed him into the woods, as quietly as he possibly could.

Which was hard with his tall and awkward lanky frame that made him very clumsy.

He'd almost tripped on 5 different tree roots and 2 rocks before Arthur reached the dragon.

Merlin quickly hid behind an oak tree, putting a hand over his mouth before he could gasp.

Arthur had truly shot it down.

The poor creature was helpless, it's body trapped in a net and an arrow sticking out of a blood-trickling wound on its wing.

It looked terrified.

*******

This wasn't what Arthur was expecting when he'd shot the dragon.

He thought it would look more vicious, he thought it would be fighting the restraints with smoke pouring out of its nostrils and its eyes lit with anger and fury.

Though the dragon lay limp, an arrow sticking out of its wing, trapped helplessly in a net with a terrified look in its eyes, accepting death.

He couldn't kill this poor creature.

Arthur shook his head, no he had to, he needed his fathers approval and his pride.

He was a fierce warrior who protected the vermin that dragons were from killing Camelot's citizens.

Arthur raised his sword above his head, ready to slay the beast.

Arthur was a hunting machine who had killed many dragons in the past.

Arthur paused.

Then why was this so different?

Arthur looked closer at the dragon, gazing into its large blue eyes that were much like his own.

Arthur could see himself in the dragons fearful gaze.

Himself terrified when he was thrown into battle at only the age of twelve during a dragon attack.

Himself afraid each time he made a mistake, his father with a furious look on his face and a belt in hand, an occurrence that had always left Arthur with bruises and scars.

Himself scared when his childhood friend, Tristan, had died in front of him during a battle, the pool of blood still vivid in his memory.

His nightmares as a child of the dragons killing him, waking up shaking in tears wishing he had a mother to comfort him.

He couldn't do it, Arthur thought.

The dragon was just as terrified as he was.

That's when Arthur began frantically cutting off the ropes that kept the dragon restrained.

When he'd finally gotten it off the dragon pinned him to the ground with its teeth bared.

*******

Merlin was completely bewildered.

Had Arthur gone mad?

Merlin had watched Arthur, the crown prince of Camelot, who had killed many many dragons in the past, unsheathe his sword and hold it above a dragons body, then not kill it, and instead cut its restraints off and let it go.

Had he missed something?

There was a pause in between Arthur raising the sword above his head, ready to kill the beast, and cutting its restraints off.

Arthur had looked into its eyes and his entire being went soft.

Had Arthur seen the innocence and fear in the dragon that Merlin could?

Though when the dragon had pounced on Arthur Merlin got out of his trance and began to panic.

He had no weapon.

He lifted his hand up on instinct, itching to use his magic against it, even though it wouldn't work.

Before Merlin could do anything the dragon was off Arthur, falling into a small pit, trying but failing to fly away.


	5. Aithusa; the Light of the Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin learns how to train a dragon.

Merlins eyes shot open when dusk finally came.

Whipping his blanket off his body, Merlin shot faster than a bullet out the door.

Ever since he'd watched Arthur capture and nearly kill that dragon yesterday Merlin knew he had to go back, especially since the dragon was injured and could easily perish if it was trapped in that ditch for a long period of time.

Merlins first priority was medical supplies in order to treat the dragons wound. Tiptoeing into his uncles workshop, Merlin grabbed some medical tape, stitches, tweezers, vinegar, myrrh herbs, & mint, putting each item into his leather bag. He also grabbed a long rope on the way.

Merlins second priority was food. Sneakily heading over to the docks, Merlin snuck into the fish shop to smuggle food for the dragon.

Though it was risky to steal Merlin didn't have the money nor the patience in order to wait until the shop opened to buy enough to feed an entire dragon.

Plus he was already taking a huge risk going to see the dragon, getting caught stealing a few fish from a small shop was the least of his worries.

Merlin lugged the bag of fish onto his shoulder.

He was having a difficult time walking due to the weight on his back, until he remembered that he had magic and used a weightless spell on both items, relieving Merlins joints immediately.

Merlin started biting his lips nervously.

Just because the dragon hadn't attacked Arthur didn't mean it wouldn't attack Merlin, even if Merlin did had good intentions. And Merlins magic seemed useless against the creature, a spear being his only defence.

And he was fairly sure that everyone knew how terrible he was with a spear, or any weapon for that matter.

Maybe he should've thought about this more before he'd gone and decided to face a bloody dragon.

Though it was too late to change his desision, for he'd just arrived at the pit that the dragon was currently trapped in.

Merlin tried to take steady breaths as he tied his rope around a tree, before climbing down into the pit.

When he hit he bottom he spotted the dragon, it's soft blue eyes turning to ice when the dragon spotted him.

Before Merlin could duck the dragon came bounding towards him, making Merlin stumble.

The dragon leaned above him.

There was complete silence and stillness in that moment, one in which the dragon and Merlin had been staring at each other.

Merlin grabbed for his spear, causing the dragon to growl.

Merlin slowly picked it up and threw it away, showing the dragon there was no threat.

A moment after it stepped off him.

The dragon let out an ear-splitting roar and tried to fly away, it's injured wing dragging it down.

Merlin was surprised at the dragons non-hostile behaviour towards him.

After seeing the dragon struggle for a while, Merlin decided to give it a peace offering, cautiously creeping up to it with a juicy fish in hand.

The dragon bared its sharp white teeth at him as he got closer, the dragon letting out a low growl.

Merlin stopped abruptly.

He threw the fish instead, not wanting to get to close.

He held his breath in anticipation.

The dragon looked at him warily, but gobbled it up anyway.

Merlin sat down and let out the breath he had been holding.

A moment after the dragon spit out half of the fish, nudging it towards him as if offering him food as well?

The dragon looked at him.

"Uhh....you want me to eat this?" Merlin asked it.

There was no reply, but the dragon continued to watch him.

Merlin reached for the half-eaten fish.

The dragon let out a sound of approval.

Merlin looked at the fish, feeling quite nauseous at the sight of the raw fish covered in slobber, but hid it with a fake grin. Merlin reluctantly took a bite out of it, tasting one of the foulest things he'd ever eaten.

He started gagging but swallowed it down to show the dragon that he appreciated the gift.

Merlin had made a surprising amount of progress with the dragon. It hadn't tried to kill him yet, and it seemed to be sharing food with him, even if it was an undercooked fish cover in dragon saliva.

Merlin tried to touch it afterwards, but it growled and scampered away.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted.

*******

Merlin decided to go back to the ditch that evening, even if he'd spent at least an hour trying to goad the dragon to come out of the corner it was hiding in.

He knew that he needed to patch up the dragons wound before it bled out or it wouldn't survive.

He arrived to the sight of the dragon laying on its side, it's breaths coming in short, surrounded by a pool of scarlet blood, and whimpering.

Merlin tried not to panick.

Racing over to the dragons dying form, Merlin whipped out his medical supplies as fast as he could.

He quickly applied pressure to its wound after taking the arrow out. He then applied some healing medicine, myrrh, to the wound, and fed it some mint to relive the pain.

After, Merlin began the stitching it together, and applied some gauze to its wing.

After he was finished, Merlin shifted back.

The dragon didn't look to be breathing. Merlin tried to check for a pulse, but could find nothing.

Tears began to well up in his deep blue eyes, which was odd since it was a freaking dragon and he'd only known it for a short amount of time.

But he some how felt attached to it, as if magic was binding them somehow.

The creature was so beautiful, Melrin thought, as he watch it lying motionless in front of him.

It was so defenceless and small, crumpled here in a heap and being taken from life.

It was helpless, a creature of pure innocence despite how it attacked the village.

It hadn't meant to hurt anyone, it was probably just defending itself from the people that had brutally hunted its kind for so long.

It was probably the last of its species of dragon as well, Merlin though, since white night furys were believed to be extinct if not a myth.

By now the tears were making streams down his face.

Before he knew what was happening Merlin had begun to speak in a language he had never remembered learning.

"O drakon e male so ftengometta tesd hup anakes Aithusa, Aithusa...."

Merlin pinched his eyebrows in confusion.

It felt like a spell, a power deep within himself, one that he'd never known was there.

But magic didn't work in dragons, did it? His certainty didn't the last time he tried.

But this felt like a different magic..

The dragons eyes blinked open.

Merlin gasped.

The dragon was now..alive?

How?

Merlin had no idea what had just happened, except for the fact that he'd saved the dragon and named it....Aithusa.

Aithusa, as in 'the light of the sun'.

The creature was looking at him expectantly as if waiting for him to do something.

Before Merlin could do anything he noticed the sun beginning to set, warmer colors painting the sky casting shadows upon the ground.

He decided to call it a day and stood slowly as to not startle the dragon.

He walked over to his rope, only to feel some thing nuzzle his shoulder.

Merlin gasped.

It was the dragon, which had seemed to take a liking to him.

Merlin smiled, hesitantly trying to pet the dragons head, but receiving a small growl in return.

Grabbing hold of the rope Merlin heaved his was up and headed back towards his home.

*******

That night Merlin had stayed up well past twilight reading all of the dragon books on his shelf.

Searching again, nothing contained anything about the creature he'd found other then short mentioning's in the Night Fury section that had only said how the Day Fury (white night fury) had been a legend many years ago, a fearsome and deadly creature to man that had gone extinct.

After reading through it all, Merlin decided to add to the book and study the dragon more abruptly.

He also wanted to ask the golden dragon in the cave about how he'd been able to use magic on Aithusa, since a dragon was a creature made of magic, which supposedly made it impossible to be able to use any normal magic on it.

Though now Merlins eyes were beginning to droop, and he soon fell asleep in his pile of books.

*******

After breakfast the next morning, Merlin had gone to the cave where Killgarrah dwelled.

"Hello?" Merlin asked, letting his voice echo throughout the cave.

Suddenly the golden dragon swooped onto a large perch in front of him.

"Yes young warlock?"

Merlin bit his lip.

"Can I ask you something?"

The dragon chuckled.

"Of course."

"Well I encountered this dragon the other day..."

"You mean the rare white dragon you named Aithusa?"

Merlin blinked.

"How did you-"

"I know many things, Merlin. Now go on," the dragon said rather impatiently.

"Do you know why I can use magic on dragons even though it's not supposed to work?"

The dragon chuckled again, much to Merlins annoyance.

"That is not my place to say."

Merlin let put a huff of frustration.

"And why not?" 

"Because, it is Gaius who must tell you." The dragon said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Gaius....but how would Gaius know?" 

"That is for you to find out, Merlin," the dragon said, as helpful as he'd been the first time, flying away into the depths of the cave.

*******

That evening Gaius, Gwen, and Merlin were all at the table eating dinner, Merlin finding it hard not to say anything as they ate.

Gaius and Gwen had begun a casual conversation when Merlin blurted out, "Why can I use magic on dragons?"

His uncle and sister went silent.

"Hm?" Gaius asked, acting oblivious and clearly hiding something.

Merlin narrowed his eyes.

"I asked, why can I use magic on dragons?"

There was a long pause.

Gwen stood.

"I'll go wash up the dishes now," she said hurriedly, clearing up their empty plates and taking them over to the water bucket.

"How should I know?"

"Because someone told me you would know."

"Killgharrah..." Gaius muttered.

Merlins eyes went wide.

"You know Killgharrah!"

Gaius gulped.

"I don't think we should be discussing this right now..." Gaius said, trying to flee.

Merlin grasped his arm, holding his uncle in place.

Gaius sighed, sitting back down.

"Your mother didn't want me to tell you this but...your father was a dragonlord."

Merlins eyes widened.

"Dragonlords are powerful sorcerers who are able to control dragons. They lived peacefully once, long ago, but after the dragon war began they were all either hunted or were forced into hiding." 

Merlin was stunned.

"The dragonlord power is passed down from father to son. Only when the father dies can his son obtain the power. Your father, Balinor, died many years ago after being caught using his power. He believed that dragons were truly innocent creatures, and that the reason the king declared war on them was wrong. He was a brave man just like you, Merlin."

Merlin let out a sound of disbelief.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Merlin asked, infuriated.

All those years of not knowing anything about his father except that he'd left him before he was born, and now learning that he had been just like him.

All those years of dreaming about dragons and going out there during an attack to protect the citizens, when he could have easily done so.

"Your mother thought it would be best to protect you. I'm sorry, Merlin."

"I had the right to know." Merlin told him, eyes full of emotion.

Gaius reached out to him, Merlin shrugging him off.

He got up and ran back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

*******

When Merlin woke up to find a book on his bedside table titled 'Dragonlord Spells' by: Balinor Emrys he grinned, hugging the book to his chest in glee.

There was a note on top of it written in his uncles handwriting, telling him to not do anything foolish with the knowledge.

Merlin, pulling the note off, bounded down the wooden steps and headed towards the forest with a bag containing more fish for Aithusa.

And before you ask, no, he didn't steal them this time...well, he didn't steal most of them.

When Merlin finally reached the clearing he'd noticed that the dragon was still injured. It's wing still continued to drag upon he ground at an odd angle, despite how Merlin patched it up and used many healing spells on it.

He knew he'd have to build a contraption to help with that, but for now he wanted to focus on feeding the dragon and seeing what his magic could do.

"Aithusa!" Merlin shouted as if greeting a friend.

The dragon turned to look at him, and bounded towards him when seeing who it was.

Merlin held up his hands to protect himself, but then realized that the dragon had stopped and was bowing to him.

Merlin looked at his hands, wide-eyed.

He decided to open the book.

The first page was about loyalty and trust.

Scanning through it Merlin learned that it was best to create a bond between the dragon and its tamer before using spells in order to speak to it as kin instead of just controlling it.

One of the first things had been to get the dragon to bow to you, and for you to bow back as well, showing that you're both submissive to the other.

At least half of that was done, Merlin thought, glancing at the dragon that was still bowing to him.

Merlin bowed back at the dragon, feeling a little odd that he was bowing to a creature and not a person.

This seemed to please the dragon.

The next step was having the dragon come to you for food, eating out of your hand instead of just throwing it. It apparently showed closeness and rewarded the dragon for trusting its companion.

Merlin dug a fish out of his sack and offered it to Aithusa, who slowly and reluctantly crept forward, eventually snatching it out of his hand.

At the end of the day Merlin had found himself sleeping on the ground with a darkening sky hung above him.

He must've fallen asleep.

He had begun to stand when he noticed a dragons wing draped over his body like a blanket, his head resting on its back.

Merlin smiled and lay back down.

*******

Merlin had been taming and bonding with the dragon for a few weeks, currently stuck on the chapter in his fathers book titled 'Flying'.

This chapter was difficult to follow, especially with a dragon containing an un fixable broken wing.

Merlin had considered skipping this, the logical part of his mind telling him that it was impossible, though the illogical part of his mind was too determined, which had got the better of him.

He had been experimenting with different contraptions after daily knight training, which had been just as tiring as ever, but became easier after using his newly learned skills to gain control over the last dragon.

This had caused many awestruck looks, especially from Arthur perfect Pendragon.

Not that he cared.

Moving on...

Merlin had spent many late nights in the blacksmiths workshop creating possible alternatives for the dragons injured wing.

Though each attempt so far had ended in failure, since he wasn't any kind of inventor or blacksmith.

His first invention was a wingmade of leather and metal that slipped atop its injured wing, hopefully giving the dragon enough momentum to be able to fly.

When Merlin had tried to fly Aithusa with that they'd only hovered for a few moments before the uneven weight of the wing tipped them over, bringing them spiralling into the dirt.

His next invention was basically the same thing with a few modifications, but he'd made a second one for the other wing so that the balance was more even.

This was an improvement, but the wings still proved to be too heavy which brought them headfirst into the ground.

His third invention was much more thought out, and he was determined to get it to work.

He was currently strapping his new invention onto the dragon.

Merlin had created full armour for the dragon, and though he had barely slept in days, it was going to be worth it.

He hoped.

He had created a breast plate, plackart, and fauld for the dragon. The sky-blue armour would cover the dragons belly, chest, and back.

It was also very light weight and fitting after Merlin used a few enchantments.

Attached to the armour Merlin had used flexible material that would be attached to the bottom of the dragons injured wing, which would serve as the flexible bones it used to fly.

Merlin had also smuggled a few materials he found that were made for horses, a saddle and some reins in case Merlin had to steer dragon without magic.

As he strapped each piece on he was breathing deeply in order to still his beating heart.

He was actually going to fly on a dragon.

He looked up at the sky.

It looked so high above the ground it made Merlin nauseous.

He was slightly afraid of heights...

This was definitely not good...

He paced around the dragon a few times, trying to calm his anxiety.

This gift was passed down to you Merlin. You've worked too hard to give up now, not before you at least try.

So taking a deep breath, feeling as if he was about to step into the deep abyss, Merlin climbed onto the dragon.

"Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai..fly."

Merlins eyes turned golden.

The dragon immediately took off.

Merlin opened his eyes. They were in the air, Merlin using his magic instinctively so that the dragon was steered in the right direction.

They were now steadily circling the island, hundreds of feet off the ground.

Merlins eyes were wide, trying but failing not to look at the sight of the island below.

He felt dizzy at the sight, but mostly awestruck at the beauty.

Camelot was beautiful, especially form above. You could see all the houses and greenery below, the emerald green of the grass and trees, and the birch wooden roofs of the homes, shops, and farms.

The castle had to be the most beautiful of it all, towering above everything in the middle of the island. It was pure white with silver glittering roves, and windows with colourful stained glass. It looked like something from a dream, a castle shrouded in fantasy.

The ocean sparkled like stars below them, reflecting the sun and the white clouds floating above. 

Merlin returned his attention to Aithusa.

"Alright girl we'll do this slowly and safely," Merlin said.

Aithusa nodded.

Merlin still found it hard to believe that they'd bonded so much that the dragon could understand him.

Merlin held out the page he had torn from his fathers book.

"Alright, position two..no, position three," Merlin said aloud, using his magic to adjust Aithusas wings in order to tilt them on an axis, making them fly in a small circle.

Merlin took in a deep breath, looking at the injured wing to make sure his contraption was still working, which it was.

He then leaned forward in order to angle them down, bringing them closer to the water, Aithusas wings grazing the surface.

They approached two rock statues that Camelot called the fallen kings.

"We can do it girl!" Merlin shouted as they approached the fairly small space between them.

They glided through the statues.

"Yes!" Merlin shouted, beaming with pride.

They continued to fly above the water.

The dragon bumped into the side of a rock due to Merlins clumsiness.

"Whoops.."

They did it again.

"Agh, sorry!"

And again.

The dragon made an irritated roar, slapping Merlins back with its tail.

"I've got it now!"

Merlin looked at the paper again, deciding to go with position 5, tilting the dragons head up in order to fly into the air, Merlin pumped with adrenaline.

"Bloody hell this is amazing!"

They continued to fly into the air when Merlin lost grip on his paper. He tried to grab for it, causing him to slip. He tried to grasp at the dragon but gravity was already taking him down.

Merlin yelped.

He began free falling towards the ocean.

He tried think of a spell, but he was panicking so much that his mind had gone blank. All that he could hear was he wind whistling in his ears and the rapid beating of his heart.

The dragon began to fall too after his magical grip on it was lost, roaring helplessly and spinning out of control.

"Aithusa!" Merlin shouted, trying to get a grip on the dragon beside him.

"You can do it, you've got to fly!"

They were quickly falling towards the ocean with a convenient large patch of spiky rocks just below them.

Merlin finally got a grip on Aithusa, and as fast as he could jumped onto the saddle and tugged at the reins, causing the dragons wings to expand and slow them.

With his mind thinking clearer, Merlin used his magic to make the dragon flap its wings in order for them to fly.

With the paper telling him how to control the dragon lost, Merlin had to rely on instinct and memory.

They were in a dense patch of towering rocks with very little space between them. This forced Merlin to have to steer the dragon through them and avoid them like obstacles.

They flipped and spun through the rocks with little to no mistakes. Merlin was leaning forward, his heart still beating fast from fear, but his face contorted in concentration and determination with the misty water and wind billowing in his face.

He felt quite nauseous, but he had to ignore this aspect in order to steer them clear of the danger.

They finally emerged from the rocks.

"Woooo!" Merlin screamed, spreading his arms in triumph.

Aithusa blew out a trail of fire in excitement.

Merlin was heading straight for it.

"Shi-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in so long.
> 
> Summer's been busy, and writers block kept happening.
> 
> I made it longer to try and make up for the time.
> 
> Have a great day Sorcerers and Dragonlords!


	6. The Dragons Nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur discovers why Merlin is so good with the dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some cheesy romance (lol)

Arthur narrowed his eyes as he watched Merlin enter the arena. 

The boy, who he'd once believed to be useless, had been doing exceptionally well during training, which made Arthur quite suspicious.

Merlin had somehow been using these....skills in order to make the dragons bow to his bidding. Whether it was to play dead at his feet or lure the creature back into its cage, Merlin had seemed to have the dragons at his beck and call.

Because of this, Merlin had become known as the 'dragon whisperer' in just a few short weeks, and Arthur wanted to know why.

It wasn't that he found it unbelievable that Merlin could actually be talented and have a way with the dragons, it was just that he couldn't believe that someone so weak could become so skilled in such a short amount of time.

At least, not without a secret they were hiding. A mentor that he met with, maybe. Or some kind of power...

Arthur wasn't sure, but as the prince he felt obliged to find out.

Though first and foremost, he had to get through today's training.

Arthur leaned on the wall of the arena as he watched Leon hand each warrior a water bucket.

Arthur was glad he didn't have his father breathing down his neck while he taught their new trainees today.

Although he did wish he could've gone with Uther and the rest of their adult warriors on his voyage to find the 'dragons nest', which Uther thinks could be the place where the dragons come from, not that he knew where it was if it even existed.

Arthur wanted to go not exactly because he was particularly looking to slaughter dragons, but to get away from the island that he'd spent most of his days in.

And to get away from Merlin, of course.

"Hello, Arthur."

Arthur spun towards the voice swiftly, startled from how close it was.

He glared when he recognized his sister.

Morgana grinned.

"Did I scare you?" She asked knowingly.

Arthur scoffed.

"No you didn't," he said in denial.

Morgana rolled her emerald eyes.

"Anyway, I'll be joining your Knights today, Uthers orders, since he can't be here," she said with a sly grin, winking over at Freya who blushed in response.

Arthur crossed his arms, but before he could say anything his sister had began to make her way towards the group.

Once everyone held a bucket and a weapon, including Morgana, and had gotten into pairs, Arthur sauntered over to the group, grabbing his own.

"Today you will be fighting a dragon known for its mysterious and dangerous abilities. The way we are going to defeat it is with water, since that will put out its sparks, and using some of our previous skills we learned in order to make that happen. This dragon is also known for having two heads, one breathing gas, and the other lighting it, which means you need to know which head is which."

"Any questions?" Arthur shouted before nodding over at Leon.

The door opened, and out came a Zippleback, a slime coloured, two-headed dragon with a cream coloured belly and red spikes.

The arena was immediately filled with swamp brown gas, making everyone blind to where it was.

Arthur took the ready position beside his sister.

The dragon first aimed its attack at Gwaine.

While distracted, Percival tried throwing his water onto the dragon.

It was the wrong head.

While this happened the second head was in play as well, so Percival had to duck an attack, only to have its tail swoop at his legs and send him sprawling to the ground.

Gwaine had got a slash to the arm, resulting in him running away.

It's next prey was Gwen and Freya, who had attempted to throw water at it from both directions only to have it miss and have them thrown back.

It then turned its attention to Merlin and Lancelot, who decided to try and find its blind spot and then attack.

Lancelot threw his water only to have it be the wrong head, a mistake that had been made a third time.

The dragon then tried to attack Lance with its venomous gas.

Lancelot, now weapon less, had to get away.

It was up to Merlin.

"Now!" Arthur shouted, trying to encourage him.

Merlin attempted to throw the water, only to have it go a few feet in the air and drop to the ground.

Arthur face-palmed himself.

The dragon lunged forward, causing Merlin to trip onto his arse and crawl backwards.

Arthur and Morgana ran towardsvthe dragon, ready to attack, when Merlin was miraculously on his feet.

"Back!" Merlin shouted, throwing his hands in the air as if trying to push the creature away.

Arthur stared at Merlin, surprised once again at his skill that somehow worked.

Merlin began backing the dragon into the cage.

"Right, back into you cage." Merlin shouted finally getting them in and shutting the door.

There was silence, and everyone was staring at Merlin in awe.

Then they all erupted into cheers, discluding Arthur,

"He's done it again!" Gwaine shouted, patting Merlins shoulder.

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

When the group was done congratulating Merlin, he announced that there would be a fireside meal that night, before dismissing them.

He watched Merlin as he left. Before leaving Merlin turned around, gave Arthur an annoying but attractive wink, with a smirk on his face, and then proceeded to leave.

Merlin was infuriating.

*******

Gwaine and Percival were bickering/flirting, the other Knights were having a conversation about their favourite species of dragon, and the firelight and stars illuminated them all, making them glow.

Most of the Knights were laughing gleefully, eating their meals and acting like the world was a peaceful place without fear.

Arthur could see Merlin in the back, and his attention seemed to be fixed upwards at the night sky.

They were quite beautiful that night, Arthur thought. Hundreds of them shining in the wide expanse of space, constellations creating beautiful shapes representing different myths and legends.

The night sky had always been beautiful to Arthur, not that he'd admit it to anyone he knew. It was an escape, a place you could get lost in, at least when there was no dragons hiding it and attacking the island.

Though it wasn't the stars that Arthur was transfixed with, it was Merlin.

Beautiful, insufferable Merlin.

Arthurs crush on him had only increased, even if he wished it wouldn't. 

The firelight bathed him in a beautiful light, casting shadows upon his cheekbones and illuminating his pale skin.

There were stars in his ocean blue eyes as he gazed at the sky above, and there was a small smile on his lips, not the sarcastic smirk he always given Arthur, but one of true bliss that made his eyes crinkle.

Arthur couldn't help but fall for him, which he hated.

Suddenly Merlins gaze left the sky and had met Arthurs.

Arthur swallowed, his heart skipping a beat.

Merlin had never looked at him with such softness and intensity all at once. It took all of Arthurs strength not to look away.

He decided Merlins eyes weren't just blue like the ocean, they had a splash of forest green in them near his pupils.

Arthur felt a blush beginning to crawl up his neck.

The moment was interrupted by Gwaine falling onto his backside, giggling.

Percival was looking down at him and grinning.

"Get a room!" Morgana shouted, her armed wrapped around Freya.

Arthur smiled at the group of Knights.

All of them had such close relationships. Some were in love, others had strong bonds with their friends, which made Arthur long for Merlin even more.

God he was pathetic.

*******

The day began and Arthurs suspicions about Merlin continued.

So after training, when Merlin had once again defeated another dragon with his unbelievable skills, Arthur decided to follow him.

Merlin had left in a hurry, seeming like he needed to be somewhere.

Arthur, a few paces behind, followed stealthily.

Merlin had gone into the forest with a large bag in hand.

Arthur crept behind, hiding behind trees whenever Merlin turned around.

They'd finally gotten there, and Arthur couldn't help but feel that the place was farmilliar...

Merlin tied a rope to a tree and began to climb down into a small ditch.

Arthur looked down and saw that he could easily land the jump, so when Merlin reached the bottom, beginning to fumble with his bag, Arthur jumped.

The moment his boots hit the ground Merlin spun around, his eyes blown wide.

"W-what are you doing here?!"

Arthur walked casually over to a rock, leaning on it and lazily twirling his sword.

"I want to know what's going on." 

Arthur stood, walking over to Merlin.

"Do you have a mentor?" He asked, pointing his sword at Merlins throat, backing him up.

"Have you learned some kind of power?" Arthur quirked a brow at him.

He twirled his sword again, his gaze still dangerous.

"Look, I-I know this looks bad.." Merlin began.

Arthur gasped, shoving Merlin behind him protectively and raising his sword.

He was puzzled, not seeing anything.

He thought he heard a noise...

"Alright alright!" Merlin said getting in front of Arthur and blocking his view.

"I lied I've been making...contraptions, inventing things that help me with fighting. It's about time people found out so...ah!"

Arthur twisted his arm around, bringing it behind him in a painful twist.

"That's for lying."

Then he shoved him, not at full force, but enough to get him to the ground.

"And that's for pretty much everything else."

Arthur heard the roar again.

"Oh damn.." Merlin whispered.

Suddenly a white dragon came charging at them.

It was the one Arthur shot down, the one he let go.

"Get down!" Arthur shouted to Merlin, shoving him to the ground.

He pointed his sword in the dragons direction.

He would kill this dragon if it meant saving them.

"Stop!" Merlin shouted, getting between Arthur and the creature.

"Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai!" Merlin shouted at it.

Was that...Dragonlord magic?!

"It's alright he's a friend.." Merlin told it, coaxing the dragon.

Arthur was completely bewildered, blinking at the sight before him.

Merlin was petting its head, trying to quiet its growl.

"You scared her," Merlin told him.

Arthur looked at the dragon, who was still growling.

"I scared her?!" Arthur asked Merlin, as if asking if he was kidding,

"Arthur, this is Aithusa. Aithusa, this is Arthur," Merlin introduced as if it were perfectly normal to introduce a person to a dragon.

Aithusa was still glaring dangerously at Arthur, her blue eyes narrowed. 

Merlins mad, Arthur thought.

Arthur shook his head and ran away, heading back towards the castle.

He sprinted through the leaves, jumping over logs and broken branches, gripping his sword so hard his knuckles turned white.

Suddenly there was a white claw around his arm, and he was in the air.

"Aah! Get off!" Arthur shouted, trying to shake the dragon off his arm.

His legs flailed as he watched the ground get further away from under him.

His breaths were coming out short.

He held onto the claw tighter so that he wouldn't fall, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Put me down!" Arthur shouted.

Merlin obliged, but onto an unstable tree branch very high in the air.

"On the ground you idiot!" 

"I first need to explain," Merlin replied,

Arthur rolled his eyes,

"I'd like you to do that on the ground please and thank you," Arthur said, gulping as the tree branch he clung to began to sway.

"You'll run away if I do that."

Arthur clutched the tree tighter, not denying it.

"Well I'm not going to listen to anything you're going to say," Arthur said angrily.

"Fine then I'll show you. Please Arthur, just let me show you," Merlin begged, reaching his arm out towards Arthur.

Arthur looked at it reluctantly, but realized it was his only way down.

He took Merlins hand, which helped him onto the dragon behind him.

The dragon grunted angrily.

Arthur clutched the dragons saddle.

"Now get me down," he told Merlin.

Merlin nodded.

"Aithusa, get us down," Merlin told her.

Aithusa spread her wings.

"Nothing to be afraid of," Merlin told Arthur.

"I'm not afraid," Arthur scoffed.

The dragon took off, but shot upwards.

"Aah!" Arthur screeched.

"What's wrong with you?!" Merlin asked her.

"Sorry she usually obeys me.." Merlin told him, which gave Arthur no reassurance whatsoever.

The dragon went spiralling down towards ocean.

Arthur gripped Merlins middle so that he wouldn't fall off.

The dragon was doing flips and turns making Arthurs stomach flip in nausea.

He held Merlin tighter.

"Aah!" Arthur screamed as they shot into the sky again.

"What are you doing Aithusa?!" Merlin shouted at it.

The dragon started flipping again.

"Okay okay I'm sorry, I will not tell anyone about the dragon alright? You have amazing dragon powers just get us down," Arthur told Merlin in panic, hanging on for dear life.

Suddenly the dragon was flying smoothly in the air, but Arthur had to steady his breaths in order to calm himself. His eyes were still tightly closed, his head against Merlins back, hands clutching around Merlins blue tunic.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes to see a sky of warm bright colours. The clouds were pink a soft and the sun shined with oranges and yellows. It was awe inspiring, it was the most beautiful thing Arthur had ever seen.

He reached out, feeling the mist of the clouds between his fingers. 

Aithusa's white form was a beautiful contrast to the pastel warm colours of the sky.

Arthur started grinning, chuckling in delight at the beauty around him.

The sun was setting fast, the world darkening as it left. When they made their way higher the sky was suddenly dark, a contrast of the onyx night sky and the twinkling stars Merlin had been staring at the night before. The clouds were grey, lit up by the moons bright aura.

The stars were so much more vivid at this height, you could see every one, thousands upon thousands laying across the sky.

Arthur squeezed Merlin in appreciation. 

They swooped lower, now gliding under the layer of silver clouds.

He could see the castle, his home. Each windows lit fireplace casting an orange light through the glass.

He could see the kingdom that would be his one day, every citizens house, every forest, every beach.

"Wow..." Arthur whispered, completely awestruck.

He looked at it and wanted, more then he ever had before, to protect it, to make it better, to stop the war and create peace.

Aithusa turned her head to look at him, as if she knew what he was thinking.

He thought of her, a dragon who may not have liked him at first, to be fair he did injure her, an action that he regrets, and pointed a sword at her, but she hadn't killed him.

The dragon made a cooing sound, Arthur had begun to pet her side.

It was at that moment that he realized dragons weren't killing machines. It wasn't their fault his father had brought war upon them, they were just fighting to survive.

Maybe if they just stopped hunting these dragons they would stop attacking the kingdom and everyone could live together in harmony.

Arthur smiled, realizing that this was what Merlin wanted to tell him the whole time.

Arthur rested his head on Merlins shoulder, hugging him close.

He could feel Merlin stiffen, his breath hitch, but then relax against his embrace.

"I have to admit...this is pretty amazing," Arthur told Merlin.

"And you were afraid at the beginning," Merlin said teasingly.

"No I wasn't," Arthur retorted, knowing it was a lie.

There was a moment of silence.

"I have to kill a dragon in the arena when my father gets back tomorrow," Arthur said, trying to get it off of his chest.

Merlin nodded in response.

"My dads making me do it for my birthday since I've come of age to be a king, which means when either my father retires or dies I will be able to take over the throne."

"And?" Merlin asked, knowing there was something Arthur was trying to tell him.

"And I don't think I can do it, not after this. I mean..I've finally come to realize that my father is...wrong. It's not dragons that are evil, it is what we do to them that forces them to defend themselves and retaliate those violent actions back at us that is.." Arthur said.

He could practically feel Merlin smile.

"I'm very glad you feel that way," Merlin replied, smiling.

"My father declared war against dragons in his grief for my mother. He thought that the evil of the one that killed her meant they were all like that, but they're not. The problem is...what am I supposed to do? If I don't fight my father will be incredibly angry. If I do, I will be going against all that I believe to be right," Arthur said hopelessly.

There was a pause.

"Personally, I don't think you should fight. I think you need to do what you believe to be right and dam the consequences. But it is your decision, Arthur, and I believe in the King you will become. I will stick by you no matter what."

Arthur was surprised at Merlins response.

He was so loyal so quickly.

He believed in him, which warmed Arthur's heart and sent butterflies to his stomach.

Though before he could say anything the dragon swooped down and began flying away from the island.

"Aithusa what're you doing?" Merlin asked.

Arthur began hearing dragon calls from many different directions.

Suddenly there was a Monstrous Nightmare beside them, recognizable by its red scales and long, dark horns.

He and Merlin ducked out of its vision.

There was another dragon to their left, and more and more began to emerge, different species all carrying what looked to be food.

"What's happening Merlin?" Arthur whispered.

"I don't know...I think I can hear something calling them..." 

Merlin gasped.

"Aithusa, get us out of here," Merlin told her desperately.

She didn't obey.

"Ithi," he said using dragon tounge.

No response.

The dragons made a sudden dip, Arthur tightening his grip on Merlin.

The ground was rocky, like they were approaching land.

Suddenly they were taken into a cave, leading into what looked to be..

A volcano.

All of he dragons were dropping their food into the lava lit mountain.

Arthur made a sudden realization.

"This is the nest," Arthur said aloud.

What his father would do to find this.

Aithusa went behind a rock, hiding them from the view of the rest of the dragons, who were dropping their food into the depths of the volcano.

"Why are they wasting their food?" Merlin asked aloud.

A small Gronckle dragon went to drop half a fish into the depths of the volcano, when suddenly a gigantic, 30 foot long jaw snatched it and brought it down.

Merlin and Arthur both had matching bewildered expressions of fear and shock on their faces.

"Bloody hell, what was that?" Arthur asked fearfully.

The dragon was suddenly sniffing for more food.

"Ithi. Aithusa, get us out of here, Ithi!" Melvin shouted.

Aithusa shot into the air, the monster below them trying to follow. 

All of the dragons were fleeing in fear out of the top of the volcano.

They barely escaped.

*******

"That was the nest! The one my father has been looking for!" Arthur shouted.

Aithusa landed, they were back in Camelot on a cove by the forest.

"I have to tell him!" Arthur shouted, knowing that his father would be returning very soon and how proud he would be that his son had found what he'd been searching for for years.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted, running after him.

Arthur halted.

"Arthur, I know you want to make your father proud, but...they'll kill Aithusa. We have to think this through rationally."

Arthur turned to Merlin with a conflicted expression.

"But...my father, he's dedicated his entire life to finding this nest. I've seen him go mad over it. If he finally gets what he's been after then maybe I could talk some sense into him..."

Merlin sighed.

"No, Arthur. Finding the dragons nest is only the beginning. When he discovers that...thing controlling all the dragons he'll try to kill it, which could result in his, and many others, death. They can't survive fighting all of those dragons, you and I barley did. And even if they do they'll continue to hunt the dragons until every last one dies."

Merlins words sunk in.

Arthur sighed.

"Then what do we do?" Arthur asked him.

"I don't know," Merlin said, shaking his head.

"All I know is that I need to protect Aithusa, and that you need to protect the kingdom. We'll come up with a plan tomorrow," Merlin finished hopelessly.

"Okay," Arthur agreed.

Arthur punched Merlins arm.

"That, was for kidnapping the prince."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

He looked at Merlin, his eyes reflecting the water and his entire form being illuminated by moonlight.

Arthur planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

"That's for the rest," Arthur said quickly, running back into the forest.

Merlin was speechless.


	7. The Battle Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Arthurs birthday, and he is being forced to fight a dragon in the arena, but will he make a stand for the dragons, or bow to his fathers wishes and kill it?

Merlin was anxiously nibbling at his lip as he awaited Arthur by the arena entrance.

He knew that it was his destiny to help Arthur unite dragons and humans, to help him create peace throughout the land, but he also didn't want Arthur to get hurt in the process. And Arthur likely would kill the dragon anyway, his pride often overruled his head.

Though Arthur was also noble and just, which worried Merlin immensely. 

Merlin cared about Arthur deeply, more deeply than he ever thought he could care for anyone, especially not in the short few months he'd known him. And if he ever got hurt or killed...

No, he couldn't even imagine it.

There was a tap on his shoulder, causing Merlin to whirl around.

It was Arthur, in full armour, with a sword hanging at his belt.

"You alright, Merlin?" Arthur asked, quirking an eyebrow at his nervous expression.

"Of course sire," Merlin replied with an false grin on his face.

Arthur gave him a look to show he was unconvinced.

"Can you tighten by Pauldron? My servant left it a bit too loose," Arthur asked him, pointing to the piece of armour attached to his shoulder.

Glad to have something to distract himself with, Merlin strode over to the back of Arthur and began working on tightening his armour with shaking fingers.

After a moment of silence, Arthur speaks.

"I won't kill the dragon."

Merlin stops in his tracks for a moment, caught off guard.

"I don't want to continue my fathers rain of war. What he has been doing, to all of the dragons and dragonlords that he's slaughtered, is evil," Arthur said with sadness in his voice.

"Uther did what he thought he had to in order to protect the kingdom," Merlin replied.

"That doesn't mean it was right."

Merlin silently agreed, too afraid that his voice would shake if he responded.

After clearing the lump in his throat, Merlin spoke.

"Arthur, be careful. Defend yourself as well as you can against the dragon. Do not submit to it completely," Merlin said pleadingly. 

"Of course o mighty dragonlord!" Arthur replied sarcastically.

"Keep your voice down, and I'm being serious," Merlin murmured lowly.

"I know," Arthur replied.

Arthur shook his head, his blonde hair falling into his face at the motion.

"Merlin, if today is to be my last..." Arthur began.

Merlin stopped adjusting Arthurs armour, fear sending a chill down his spine at the possibility.

"Just know how much you mean to me. How much I appreciate what you did for me yesterday. You have changed my perspective and for that I am grateful."

Tears began to well up in Merlins eyes, making everything go fuzzy.

Arthur turned to Merlin, who did his best to hide his eyes. Arthur grabbed his shoulders, angling his head so that Merlin would meet his intense, beautiful gaze. Merlin inhaled sharply.

"Merlin, remember, no man is worth your tears. Not even a handsome prince."

Merlin snorted half-heartedly, blinking his tears away.

"Certainly not one who acts like such a Clotpole," Merlin replied, trying to be lighthearted in their banter.

"Clotpole?" Arthur asked with a questioning but amused gaze.

They're interrupted by Arthurs greatest knight, Leon, who informed Arthur that the battle would begin shortly. Arthur nods in response.

Arthur turns back to Merlin, who has now put on the illusion of a straight face.

"Merlin, don't do anything stupid like exposing your magic in front of the king to protect me, okay?" Arthur asked knowingly.

Merlin met Arthurs gaze once more.

"Only if you promise me that nothing will go wrong."

They both looked at each other silently, burning holes into the other eyes, knowing that neither of them could promise each other these things, when the battle horns blasted through the arena.

"Ready?" Arthur asked Merlin, knowing how worried he had been.

"Ready," Merlin replied with a nod.

Arthur took Merlins hand, kissed his knuckles, and left.

Merlin was once again left flustered and speechless.

*******

The arena, which had been set up with many rocks, burst into cheers when Arthur entered, making his ears to ring. He gripped his sword in anticipation, incredibly anxious for what he was about to do.

It wasn't the dragon that terrified Arthur the most, it was standing up to his father, something that he's always been unable to do ever since Uther had first struck him as a child.

Uther was a ruthless King, one that ruled in grief and used fear to manipulate his people's minds.

Today, Arthur would take a stand against his fathers tyranny, for the dragons, for the citizens, and, most importantly, for Merlin.

He kept his gaze fixated on the metal doors that were about to unleash the dragon, not daring to look at his father who sat on his throne in the middle of the crowd.

The gates were pulled open with a loud creak, and a terrifying dark grey dragon with spikes protruding from its body, a triple-split jaw, and rocky skin came bounding out like a boulder.

The crowd gasped.

It was the thing that plagued Arthurs nightmares when he was a boy.

A Catastrophic Quaken.

The same species of dragon that killed Arthurs mother.

Arthur was almost tempted to look up at his father in disgust. How could he make his son fight the monster that killed his mother, one that he knew his son feared so much?

Arthur thought for a moment, and realized that it was to prove a point. Uther wanted to show the people a dragon that was evil 'just like all the rest', and that it deserved to be killed. It was an act that, in some sick way, would help him avenge his dead wife. And not only that, it was also to test Arthur and see if he was a worthy King to the throne, one that would face his fears head-on.

If Arthur was successful in killing it, that was, which he wasn't planning to be.

The dragon emerged from its Boulder position and hit the ground with a powerful shockwave, knocking Arthur off his feet. While he was down, the Quaken attempted to take a swing at him with its large, spiky tail. Arthur rolled away from the attack.

Now standing Arthur returned to his fighting stance, frantically searching for a blind spot on the dragon, for any way to defend himself. Though during his thoughts the dragon decided to attack again, spewing out molten lava.

Arthur quickly regained his senses and hid behind a large rock before the lava could burn him.

He had to think of a plan, and fast.

How could he defeat this dragon without killing it?

It's tail was again going at him, Arthur blocking it with the hilt of his sword.

That's when he got it.

Arthur stepped out towards the dragon with his sword raised. The dragon was about to attack when Arthur slashed a shallow cut into its side, a cut not severe enough to kill it but stop it in its tracks. The Catastrophic Quaken roared in agony, curling into itself.

He could hear the crowd cheering him on, wanting him to kill it.

Arthur looked over at Merlin, who had a pleading expression on his face.

Arthur knew what to do.

He kneeled before he dragon.

"It's alright..." He told it, dropping his sword.

"I won't kill you."

There was defeating silence as the crowd watched Arthur surrender to the dragon.

Uther shouted in outrage. He began to make his way into the he arena.

The dragon awoke from its trance, a low growl sounding. 

It was about to strike a killing blow to Arthur, who was still kneeling, when..

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted in warning.

Arthur looked up when a white flash made its way into his vision. Suddenly, Aithusa appeared in front of him, attacking the Quaken for him. It all happened so fast that Arthur wasn't sure what to do.

"Aithusa no," Merlin whimpered in the stands.

Then his father stepped in.

"Kill the dragons!" Uther ordered his guards.

"No!" Merlin shouted, trying to get to Aithusa.

Uthers men began piling in, restraining both of the creatures and holding Merlin back, about to stab both dragons with their spears.

"No wait! Father, don't kill Aithusa."

His fathers face looked at him with a face twisted with such disgust and horror that Arthur had to look away.

"Just...restrain them. Let me speak with you first. Please, father?" Arthur begged, feeling like he was about to be sick.

There was a moment of intense silence.

"Fine," Uther snapped, storming out of the arena, leaving Arthur humiliated in the middle of it.

*******

"Father..." Arthur said weakly.

Arthur stood in the throne room with his father who was flaming with rage.

"You humiliate me by not killing the foul creature you were meant to, you tell me not to kill another one who appeared out of nowhere, all in front of my people..." Uther growled, slamming his fist onto a stone pillar.

"Look, father..." Arthur tried to say.

"And that boy, the dark haired one, what does he know about that white dragon?!" 

Arthur was trying his hardest not to panic at the mention of Merlin.

"He-"

"And don't lie to me boy I know when you're lying!" 

Arthur gulped, knowing he had to lie slightly in order to help Merlin.

"He..well, we found it in the forest. It was helpless, father, trapped in ropes. Merlin told me not to, but I looked into its eyes and I saw....myself, all of the fear in its eyes, and I untied it. We began to care for it..." Arthur tried to say with confidently but instead wavered with fear.

"You cared for the very same creature that killed your own mother?!" Uther shouted in outrage, stalking over to Arthur with his fist curled.

"But as the days went on I realized the, um, innocence of them..."

"They've killed hundreds of us!" Uther retaliated.

"We've killed thousands of them!" Arthur shot back.

Uther was almost at him, his fist curled even tighter.

"When we began to fly it...a-and we saw the nest I realized not all dragons are evil, most of them aren't, they're being controlled by their leader.." Arthur said and widened his eyes, realizing what he let slip in his ra,bling fear.

Uther let his fist drop.

"The nest," Uther whispered, a mad glint in his eye.

Uther broke into a terrifying grin, one that only a lunatic could pull off.

"Father, no.." Arthur began to say as he began walking out if the room.

"Get the white dragon and tie it onto our boat. It's going to lead us to what we've been looking for.

"Father you don't understand, their leader is enormous and dangerous, there's thousands of dragons there, you'll get yourself killed. Please, listen to me, I'm your son," Arthur begged his father.

Uther turned back to Arthur.

"You are no son of mine," Uther spat sharply before slamming the throne room doors.

Arthur was left staring at the doors feeling as if his world had shattered.

********

Arthur watched his father and Knights gather onto their boats and set off towards the nest, Aithusa in the main boat steering the way. His father had given the servants orders to keep him locked in his room until they left.

Arthur felt terrible as he watched the boats slowly fade into the distance, having a bad feeling that few to none of them would return.

He felt like he'd let everyone down, especially Merlin & Aithusa. He'd probably make a terrible King, if his father didn't relinquish his claim to the throne already.

His eyes began to sting, tears began flooding his vision, but he refused to let them escape.

For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. So when his fathers boats finally disappeared, he left his bedroom and went down to the dungeons.

*******

Merlin still couldn't comprehend what had just happened as he was violently shoved into a cell by the Kings guards.

It was all a blur. Arthur had surrendered to the dragon, who had almost killed him, and then Aithusa came in and saved him, resulting in Arthur having to plead with his father not to kill them.

It all happened so fast that Merlin hadn't had the time to take it all in.

He couldn't imagine how Arthur was feeling at that moment, hoping that he was alright. He wished he was there for him instead of stuck in this cell.

He also feared for Aithusa, and what they could do to her if Arthru didn't convince his father of her innocence.

Merlin brought his knees to his chest, laying his head on the cold stoney wall of the dungeon, letting thoughts swirl in his mind. After what felt like hours, Merlin heard footsteps come to his cell. Merlin looked up.

It was Arthur, who was looking at him with such helplessness and sadness that it made his heart clench.

Merlin stood, brushing the dirt off his trousers. Arthur silently unlocked his cell, gesturing for Merlin to follow him. 

They ended up on the balcony of the castle overlooking the water. Merlin patiently waited for Arthur to speak, knowing that pushing him would do no good.

"I let everyone down," Arthur finally said, brokenly.

"If I had just killed that dragon we wouldn't be in this bloody mess."

Merlin gazed at Arthur.

"You stood up to your father, Arthur. You were making a stand about the king you want to be. You did the right thing," Merlin said truthfully.

"But at what cost? My father, the Knights, they're all going to die out there because I let the information about the nest slip because I was so afraid of my own father!" Arthur shouted, slamming his fist into the wall.

Merlin was surprised at this information, not knowing about where Uther and the Knights had gone, but he knew he had to comfort Arthur.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I got Aithusa caught, she's steering them towards the nest right now. I understand if you hate me, everyone does at this point. I'd make a terrible King," Arthur said softly, squeezing his eyes shut.

Merlin walked over to Arthur and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"I don't hate you, I could never hate you, Arthur."

Arthur let out a quiet sob in response.

"You couldn't have known Aithusa would do that. I'm proud of you for standing up for that dragon. You were incredibly brave, and you'd make an amazing King, at least to me."

Arthur stepped away from the embrace.

"Thank you," Arthur whispered, raw emotion shown on his face as well as steams of tears.

Arthur looked down in embarrassment.

"I'm not really used to....hugs," he said rather bashfully.

Merlin giggled in response.

"What do we do now?" Arthur asked him.

Merlin bit his lip in thought.

"I have a plan, but we'll need some help first."

Arthur nodded.

"Lead the way," he replied.

Merlin began walking down the stairs, Arthur in toe.

"By the way, Happy Birthday," Merlin said cheekily.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It's been a terrible one, but thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was fun!  
> I think this stories almost done. The next chapter will be updated soon.  
> Read on to find out Merlins plan (but if you've watched How to Train Your Dragon you probably already know it. Well, read on for the epic fight then :P.)


	8. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Arthur create a plan to end the dragon war once and for all.

The sun rose upon the land like a warning bell echoing throughout the kingdom, waking everyone from their delightful dreams and into the world of reality.

Merlin and Arthur had gathered all of the young Knights into the arena while Merlin nervously pondered over his plan, nibbling at his lip.

He'd first have to confess his Dragonlord powers, which he wasn't sure anyone would accept other than Gwen, who had known since the beginning, and Arthur.

He was pacing back and forth involuntarily as he thought, putting his nerves on display for his commerads. Arthur noticed this and strode over to Merlin, placing his hand on Merlins shoulder to halt him.

Merlin flinched, startled.

"Merlin, it's alright. Your plan is, dare I say, brilliant, even if you are an idiot most of the time. You have nothing to worry about," Arthur told him as a soothing gesture.

Merlin smirked, but shook his head.

"It's not the plan that worries me, it's if they'll go along with it. Once I tell them I am a Dragonlord who knows if they'll even stay or not? These people have been taught to fight dragons their entire lives, not be alongside them," Merlin rambled in a whisper.

Arthur locked his gaze with Merlins.

"Then we'll convince them," Arthur told him with confidence.

Merlin nodded, moved by Arthurs confidence but still having some doubt.

After a moment he broke their gaze, realizing that everyone had arrived. Merlin gulped under the Knights gazes, and stepped in front of them with Arthur alongside him.

"Good morning young Knights! Now, you must all be wondering why you are here. It is not for a training session, it is for a plan that Merlin and I have formulated in order to help save the older Knights and our parents from the almost certain death of the dragons nest, which they are currently journeying towards as we speak," Arthur shouted with all the courage of a true Prince.

They had decided that most of the speech would go to Arthur, since the Knights worshipped and idolized him more than they did Merlin, and because Arthur was much better at public speaking and seemed to have an inspirational magic when talking to his Knights.

"You aren't being forced to join us, and you are not a coward if you do not; but if you would like to just know that you are risking you life to do so, but for a great cause that will save people's lives."

The Knights nodded in response.

Arthur gestured for Merlin to speak, it was time.

"As you may have observed, I have been able to control the dragons during our training sessions. This is not just because I got lucky, nor is it because I am the 'dragon whisperer'. It is because of a...a sort of power that's been passed down through my family, one that I did not discover until recently," Merlin told them nervously, looking at anything but their faces as he spoke.

"I....am the last Dragonlord," Merlin confessed.

There was silence, and then shouts of disbelief began to echo throughout the arena.

"A Dragonlord?!" Someone shouted in disbelief.

"I thought the king had killed all of them!" Shouted another.

"How could one have gotten this close to the palace, does he mean to kill us all with his evil powers?!" 

"How can we trust such a retched creature?!"

Merlin began to shrink into himself, his fears coming true in front of his eyes.

"QUIET!" Arthur boomed, silencing the entire arena.

"Merlin is a good person. He has never made an attempt to attack Camelot, and he never will. My father has ruled with hate against dragons and Dragonlords for the longest time, just because of an accident that caused my mother to die. He is filled with grief, and has taught his citizens that an entire species is evil, even though that is not true. Before this war started, we lived in peace with dragons and Dragonlords, and I think the way to win this war is to make that happen once more."

Arthur paused, the Knights seemed to have started listening again.

"A few days ago, Merlin took me on a dragon flight, and though I was unsure at first, after a while I realized the innocence and beauty of this dragon. It showed me Camelot, a kingdom that I will inherit some day, and all of the beauty of it from high above. It showed me how I could improve it, how I could end this seemingly endless war with the dragons, and that was by continuing not to hunt down their species. They only attack us because we attack them, so we need to put an end to it," Arthur finished.

The Knights listened intently, and seemed convinced by the end of the speech. They all exchanged glances, and nodded towards Arthur and Merlin.

Arthur glanced at him.

"The nest is a dangerous place. The island consists of thousands of dragons, all being controlled like in a beehive, by their queen, Red Death. The Red Death is as long as the width of our castle, it has hundreds teeth as long as swords, and is incredibly strong. Even with all of the Knights, everyone who is journeying to the nest will likely perish," Merlin told them, gaining back some of his confidence.

"The plan is that we fight fire with fire. Each of us will get a dragon, we'll do a few quick trust exercises before you mount them, and we'll defeat the queen, who is not only a threat to Camelot, but to the dragons that we want to make peace with," Merlin finished.

The Knights looked nervous about the plan.

"I understand if you're afraid, it is only natural. But remember that Merlin will help keep your dragons from turning on you during our journey. If you do not wish to risk your life, that is fine, their is no shame in doing so. Though if you want to help save Camelot, our citizens, the king, and our warriors, step forward," Arthur concluded, crossing his arms.

The Knights all took a moment to think, but slowly, beginning with Gwen, then Lance following right behind, every single one of them stepped forward.

Merlins eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the amount of people to step forward that did. He exchanged a happy, prideful glance with Arthur.

"Alright-"

"I'm joining as well, I've always wanted to fly," a feminine voice cut in from behind Arthur.

Morgana strode confidently over to the cluster of soldiers, linking her hand with Freya's.

Arthur smirked, but glared at his sister for interrupting him.

They'd soon be on the battlefield.

*******

Each person had chosen a dragon and done the trust excersises Merlin instructed. 

"This guys kinda cute, eh Perce?" Gwaine smiled, petting one of the green Zipplebacks heads, getting a nuzzle in response.

Percival smirked.

"Yes, unlike you," Percival teased.

Morgana rolled her eyes, currently caressing a sky blue Deadly Nadders head with her pale hands beside Freya and her Nadder.

"You two are disgusting," Morgana fondly told them, shaking her head.

Gwaine scoffed in offense, putting a hand up in disbelief. Percival chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, Gwaine blushing in response.

Lancelot was smiling at his blood red Monstrous Nightmare, who currently had its cream coloured belly up in submission to him. Gwen was giggling at the sight.

"I guess it really likes you," she said, striding over and leaving her lazy Gronckle to rest.

"Yah," he replied, throwing her a charming smile.

He took her hands in his.

"Good luck my lady," he said, kissing her knuckles.

"I think you're the one who needs luck, not I," Gwen teased, flushed.

Merlin and Arthur were watching them all with pride. Arthur bumped Merlins shoulder.

"They took all the dragons. You better have a backup plan," Arthur said.

Merlin smirked.

"We've still got the Catastrophic Quaken," Merlin told him.

Arthur gave him a horrified look.

"I'm just kidding, we don't have enough time to train that one, but we will some day. I promise I'm getting you on that thing."

Arthur punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Alright, I've got a back up plan. Just give me a moment..."

Merlin took in a deep breath.

"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!" Merlin shouted, his power making the ground rumble.

Arthur was about to ask him what he had done, when a golden dragon emerged from the sky and landed in front of them, bowing before Merlin.

"Hello Killgharrah," Merlin greeted, bowing back.

Arthurs jaw dropped.

"Isn't that the dragon my father imprisoned in a cave?" Arthur asked out loud.

"Yah. I just released him last night. Those cuffs were hard to break, let me tell you. They had a magical protection binding them, but I could eventually break it using my magic," Merlin explained.

Arthur shook his head.

"You never cease to amaze me."

*******

All of the Knights were gliding through the sky in a triangle-like formation, Merlin and Arthur leading the way sat upon Killgharrah's golden back. They were nearly at the island, evident by the thick smoke that penetrated the air around them.

They had all discussed the plan. Percival and Gwaine would distract the queen dragon with their Zipplebacks acid gas. Gwen and Lancelot would search for its blind spot while Morgana and Freya attacked it. Merlin and Arthur would look for Aithusa, separating once they found her to save as many people as possible and then join them in the attack.

Soon the nest was in plain sight below them. Hundreds of Camelot's Warriors were in combat against the dragons. There was fire almost everywhere, and there were many wounded and dead Knights scattered across the ground.

"For Camelot!" Arthur shouted, signalling them to dive down onto the battleground.

The moment they came into sight every warrior still fighting had noticed, staring in awe at them. Uther was gaping at his son in shock from the front lines. 

Trying to ignore their stares, everyone got into formation. The queen dragon, RedcDeath, had just broken out of the volcano and came bounding towards Camelot's army. Arthur clutched Merlin who was scanning for Aithusa.

Everything was chaos, the roars of dragons and the shouts of warriors filling the air. It was quite a challenge trying to find Aithusa within everything.

Merlin, Arthur, and Killgaharrah continued circling the boats when Merlin spotted Aithusa attached to a sinking ship below the water.

"Aithusa!" Merlin shouted.

Without thinking, Merlin dived off of Killgaharrah and into the water.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted after him, panicking.

Arthur was about to go after him when he heard the loud cry of the queen dragon. Whipping his head around he spotted the Red Death in combat with his father, the young Knights he had led into battle struggling with their plan to defeat it due to the large dragons control over their dragons.

Arthur contemplated going after Merlin, but knew he needed to stick to their plan to separate when Merlin found Aithusa. Arthur prayed that Merlin would be alright and use his magic to get out.

"Killgaharrah, can you fly us to that dragon?" Arthur asked loudly over the noise.

"It would be my pleasure Arthur," the dragon replied, taking off swiftly into the chaos.

When Arthur got closer he noticed Lancelot had lost control of his dragon and had landed on the Red Deaths sharp gray head.

"Get him out of there! Gwaine, Percival, redirect its attention to you. Gwen, get Lancelot out when they're succeful!"

Gwaine and Percivals Zippleback began attacking the dragon with its acid, spewing it onto the creatures face. The Red Death tried snapping at them with its large sword-like teeth, while Gwen swooped in and saved Lancelot. Gwaine and Percival quickly flew away to safety.

"I can't believe that actually worked!" Gwaine hollered in victory.

Suddenly, Arthurs father began stabbing the dragon with his sword, doing no progress in killing it and angering it in the process.

"Father!" Arthur shouted as a wave of fire came at Uther, knocking him to the ground.

Arthur and Killgaharrah swooped down to see if he was alright.

Arthur slipped off of his dragon and ran to Uthers side.

"Father..." Arthur said weakly, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

He frantically patted at his fathers armour that was currently on fire. After putting it out all of Uthers armour had melted off showing burn marks all over his flesh.

"Arthur.." Uther weakly called, his lungs poisoned with smoke as he gasped for air.

"You are a good son. Make me proud...I love you, Arthur," Uther whispered before his heart stopped.

"I love you too, father."

Arthur had no time to grieve, for he still had a war to win, but his heart felt heavy with sorrow as he reluctantly left his fathers corpse, climbing back on to Killgaharrah's back.

The moment he took off again though Red Death was inhaling him and Killgaharrah. Killgaharrah mustered as much possible strength as he could, frantically flapping his golden wings, but couldn't fight off the strong wind pulling them in.

Before being devoured Aithusa let out a cry, and Merlin shot towards them at an impossibly swift speed, leaving only a white blur in their wake. Aithusa spewed a trail of her blue fire at the dragons mouth. The dragons jaw immediately closed but Arthur had lost his grip on Killgaharrah when the blast hit, and began free falling. Before he hit the ground he found himself gripped in Aithusa's claws.

"Good job Aithusa!" Merlin shouted victoriously, patting his dragons head.

Arthur was safely placed onto a grassy hill away from the dragon. Merlin joined the battle on Aithusa's back, gliding back to where the dangerous dragon continued to fight.

"Go, Merlin," Arthur whispered, his blue eyes longing after him.

Merlin had formulated a quick new plan in his head once he spotted the Red Deaths wings.

"Retreat!" Merlin shouted at the Knights who were currently fighting the creature with little success.

They all hesitated, but complied and safely flew away.

"Now, let's try to make this dragon fly," Arthur told Aithusa.

Aithusa shot another powerful blow of blue fire at the large dragon, knocking it into its side for a brief moment. Merlin and Aithusa began to fly away, and, looking back, Merlin had noticed his plan working, the dragon flying into the darkened sky after them.

The clouds around them were grey with smoke, making it nearly impossible to see.

Merlin had begun shouting spells at the other dragon, using up nearly all of his Dragonlord magic to try and control it. Though this dragon was powerful, and easily shook off his commands.

"Watch out!" Merlin shouted to Aithusa.

The large dragon breathed a wave of fire at them, Merlin anticipating its attack and dodging it. The Red Death continued to snap its jaws and breathe fire at them, forcing them to do a lot of twists and turns to avoid the attacks.

Soon, Merlin decided to formulate his plan.

"Time to become invisible, Aithusa," he told her, using his magic to make her scales turn from the colour of snow to the smoke surrounding them, hiding them in plain sight.

This confused the Red Death, making it scan the clouds for where they had gone. It roared in annoyance, searching for its attackers. That's when Merlin used their advantage to attack.

Aithusa began shooting puffs of fire at the dragon from all sides, using her camouflage ability to her advantage. This angered the large dragon, and it began spinning and spitting fire all around it.

Merlin tried his best to steer Aithusa away, but one of her wings caught fire, causing Merlins magic to wear off, Aithusa gaining her white colour back.

"Okay, dive down!" Merlin ordered Aithusa, sending them diving towards the ground with the Red Death in toe.

The creature was almost at them, it's jaw open only a few feet behind Aithusa. That when Merlin had decided to strike the final blow.

"Now, fire!" Merlin shouted, spinning Aithusa around so that they faced the dragon.

Aithusa shot an explosion of blue fire into its mouth, burning it from the inside. The dragon began to melt and plummeted face first into the ground, dead.

There was a lot of fire left in its wake, and Aithusa's wing had nearly completely burned off by this point. 

Merlin and Aithusa fell helplessly into the burning flames.

*******

Ashes were falling from the sky, everything bathed in a smoky mist. It was hard to see anything, but Arthur didn't care, he needed to find him.

"Merlin!" Arthur called, searching through the debris for any sign of him.

"Merlin!" He cried again, feeling frightened and helpless.

He finally came upon Aithusa's weak form. One of her wings were completely burned off, the other lying limply at her side. Arthurs knees gave out and he fell in front of her, Aithusa's blue eyes struggling to stay open and look at him.

He heard footsteps come up behind them, but all he could think about was Merlin. Sweet, innocent Merlin who had burned to death to save them all.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault," Arthur whimpered, feeling as if someone had stabbed him in the chest. His blue eyes were wide in shock, staring a Aithusa's crumpled form.

His eyes began to swell, anger and grief pooling in his chest. Aithusa made a small grunt. Arthur looked at her, and their eyes met. Aithusa was raising her uninjured wing, revealing Merlins unconscious form.

"Merlin!!" Arthur shouted in relief, throwing himself at his unconscious form.

He checked Merlins pulse, and felt a faint beat against his skin.

"You're alive, you idiot! I thought I'd lost you," Arthur cried, pulling Merlin into a tight embrace, tears pouring down his face.

Everyone cheered from behind him, but all Arthur could hear was the small beating of Merlins heart.

Right there, in that moment, Arthur realized the strength of his love for Merlin, and knew he could never let him go. He ran his hands through Merlins jet black hair, touching his forehead to Merlins, who smelled strongly of smoke, and felt his stomach swirl with relief and happiness.

He placed his hand on Aithusa's head, and smiled at her in appreciation.

"Thank you for saving him," Arthur said softly.

"I still have to mend the part of him that he's lost, though," Gaius said from behind Arthur, holding a box of medical tools with Gwens relived face by his side.

*******

Merlin awoke to the sight of his wooden ceiling above him, his head placed on his soft pillow with the sun streaming in. His memories began flooding in of the battle, of fighting the ferocious dragon and defeating it, then falling into the fire afterwards.

Was it just a dream? Was he dead?

Merlin tried to push himself up, but fell back when he felt a sharp, excruciating pain shoot up his right arm. He tilted his head to the side to examine it, and spotted a metal limb replacing the flesh up to his elbow.

So he'd lost his arm, maybe it wasn't a dream. Merlin heard the call of Aithusa as if she were in his room. Merlin pushed himself up with his left arm and spotted Aithusa at the foot of his bed.

"Aithusa?" Merlin asked curiously, wondering if he was seeing things.

She cooed in reply and began running around his room, knocking over things. Merlin got up to stop her, but immediately sat back down when noticed the pain of burns on his leg.

He lifted up his trouser leg to reveal bloody bandages and red skin. Merlin winced at the sight.

Aithusa, noticing his struggle, came to his side to assist him. He put his weight on her as he limped to the door. That's when he noticed that her wing had been fixed, replaced with an entirely new one the colour of her blue eyes.

When he opened the door he was hit with a wave of cheers. It seemed that many people decided to surprise him when he awoke. And not just that, there were people flying on dragons as well, one of them being his sister. Merlin stood in place, completely bewildered.

"Yep, I've definitely died," Merlin told himself matter-of-factly.

"No. Well, you would've without your dragon and the prosthetic arm I gave you," Gaius replied, walking towards his nephew.

Merlin hugged his uncle, glad that Gaius was alright.

Arthur landed in front of him, on a...Catastrophic Quaken. How did that happen? How long had he been asleep to have woken to Arthur riding the dragon he feared the most?

Merlin had no time to ask these questions before Arthur punched him in his good arm.

"Ow! I've already lost one arm, you know!" Merlin shouted at him.

"Well you deserve it for scaring your king idiot!" Arthur replied, but the anger looked fake due to his fond smirk.

Merlin smiled and was surprised and glad at the fact Arthur was king now.

Arthur leaned closer to him, his sparkling blue eyes locked in an intense gaze with his. The sun reflected off his golden locks, and soon Merlin could see every detail of his face, his lips inches from Arthurs. Merlin was deeply flushed by their closeness, and he couldn't look away from Arthurs lips.

"Don't do it again," Arthur whispered harshly before sliding his hand onto Merlins nape and bringing their lips together.

Merlins eyes closed, the slide of Arthurs lips sending shudders down his spine. Arthur pulled away after a moment with an arrogant smirk on his face. 

"Okay," Merlin agreed in a daze.

"Ooh!" The crowd cooed, making Merlin turn cherry red.

Aithusa bounded through the crowd, knocking nearly everyone over. Merlin and Arthur chuckled.

"Care to race?" Arthur asked him, handing Merlin a dragon saddle.

"Don't mind if I do," Merlin replied, a pink blush still evident on his face.

Merlin strapped the saddle to Aithusa, climbing on top of her. Arthur did the same with his dragon. The crowd cleared, making room for Merlin and Arthur to be able to take off.

They took off at the same time, racing each other through the island. Arthur cackled in delight while Merlin hollered.

He flew over the kingdom, seeing children running around playfully with their new pet dragons, others helping carry food for farmers. He also spotted all of the young Knights flying around and doing tricks with them in a field.

Finally, Camelot had achieved peace. Dragons and people living together once more. Merlin and Arthur had fulfilled their destiny.

Though Camelot is just a small island in the middle of the ocean, it is a place full of colourful creatures and people, one where everyone is accepted regardless of who or what you are.

It was a place full of love and happiness. A place of loyalty and warriors.

It was a place overflowing with dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished it, oh my gosh!  
> This was such a fun story to make, and I hope you enjoyed it.  
> Have a great day readers, see ya!  
> :)


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